Bad Dog

AOA Banquet

Friday night we went to the AOA banquet. This is the honors society that Stephen was inducted into his third year of medical school. There was a wonderful dinner and the guest speaker was Dr. Lawrence Mohr Jr., the White House physician for Reagan and Bush. It was really interesting to hear him talk about his experiences. Here are some pics from the evening:

We Matched At...

...Greenville!!! We are so excited. After much prayer and consideration, we put Greenville as our first choice with Charlotte and Vanderbilt close behind. We would have been happy at any of those places, but we are confident that we are going where God wants us to be. Greenville has an amazing orthopedics program and Stephen had one of the best "gut feelings" after interviewing there. He will get an amazing education and get to work with really great people at Greenville. He meshed really well with the other residents and the attendings. The big things you look for are quality of education, happiness of the residents, reputation so you can get a good fellowship, if you get along with the residents (because you will spend a lot of time with them), and location. We really felt Greenville was strong in all these areas.

Stephen's parents, my parents, and Stephen's brother went with us to the match ceremony. One at a time, a name is drawn at random. When they call your name, you walk up on stage and open an envelope to find out where you are going. It is completely nerve racking and exciting at the same time. We were so excited to say "Greenville" into the microphone. Each person gets to walk up to a song of their choice and have some pictures on the screen. We walked up to All Time Low's "Vegas." It is one of our favorite songs that has a lot of meaning to us. It is filled with memories of when we started dating at Clemson. Here are the pics that were shown on stage as we walked up:

Lots of people dressed up. There was a crustacean, a banana, a pirate, the cowbell guy from SNL, a dancing otter, hulk hogan, many St Patty Day costumes, and lots more. If you want to see a video from the local news you can go here.
Here are some pics from the ceremony:

Afterward we went to lunch with the family at Saffron's downtown. After that we went to Salty Mikes for the post-match celebration, which continued at Fuel for dinner, and then Closed for Business on King Street.

Stephen, I am so proud of you. You are an amazing man and I continue to fall in love with you every day. I am so excited to start this next stage of life with you!

We Matched

Today is "Black Monday." At 12pm every medical student across the nation found out whether or not they matched into their specialty. We matched! We don't know where we are going, but we know we are going somewhere.

If you don't match, then you have to scramble. This involves calling every open slot around the country to try to convince them to take you. This year there are 2 open slots in orthopedics in which 500-600 people will be competing for. The other options are to do a year of research or a prelim year of general surgery and re-enter the match process next year.

We are thankful to have matched, and are excited to find out Thursday where we are going!

Bella's first haircut

This weekend Bella got her very first haircut. We love love our fluffy dog, but we decided it might be time for a shorter summer do. This will be cooler for her and more manageable for us.

Evan

On February 23, we were expecting to welcome my nephew, Evan Charles, into the world. Instead, baby Evan went home to be with the Lord. There was a knot in his umbilical cord, and he died that morning before they could deliver him.

These past few weeks have been very difficult as we all have mourned the loss of this precious boy. However, there is so much comfort in knowing that Evan is with Jesus and never had the chance to be touched by sin. As much as he is loved here on Earth, we can not comprehend how much our Heavenly Father loves him.

His memorial was last Tuesday and it was a beautiful service. The pastor did a wonderful job. Some of the things he shared in his message have really stuck with me. The first was that God did not take Evan, but He received him. Once again, it is so comforting to be assured that Evan will spend eternity in Paradise. He said that there are a few things people say like "God needed another flower in his garden" or that "God needed Evan more than we did" and these things are not true. God does not need Evan more than us and if he wanted another flower, then the creator of the universe can make one in an instant. Evan is with the Lord because that was God's plan for him. Whatever my nephew's purpose here on Earth, it has been or is being fulfilled. He shared that this kind of experience can make us bitter or can make us better. It can make us cold, or it can make us compassionate. We should honor Evan's memory by allowing it to make us better and more compassionate.

Everyday I think about Evan. I think about my brother Rob and Melissa, and how they must be feeling. I love them both so much. I pray that this experience brings us all closer together as a family and also closer to God. I am constantly reminding myself that God understands the loss of a child. He has been there. He understands everything we are going through. He sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins. He sacrificed His baby boy for our salvation. What an amazing gift. If we acknowledge this gift and commit ourselves to the Lord, then we too can spend eternity in Heaven.

Evan, I love you. You are such a beautiful little boy. When I held you here on this Earth, I cried tears of sadness. I look forward to holding you again some day and crying tears of joy.

Isaiah 40:18-31
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard you hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ.