Residency Ranks are in!

It's done. We did it. Complete.. It's all down. The conclusion is there. It isn't changing and we are throwing in the towel.

After lots of prayers, thoughts, fasting, and long talks (I wish I could end those words with 'on the beach'). We have submitted our ranking list for residency.

This is a big deal.

There has been a lot, A LOT of thought and prayer put in.

So you ready to hear our list?

Wait, hold your horses a little tighter. I'm getting there. I just want to explain a bit.. Most students receive somewhere in their top 3 of choices. BUT-you could definitely get your last choice as well.. And! You could even not match at all and have to go back for a rematch.

With those fears being said.. Here is our top 5! Start slapping those thighs to your own drum roll please...

#1 University of Utah and Affiliated Hospitals-UT

#2 Case Western/University Hospitals-OH

#3 UC Irvine Med Center-CA

#4 Loma Linda University-CA

#5 Mayo School of Grad Med Education- AZ

We have listed down to 13.. but no point in listing those unless we match there.. in that case it will just be a surprise to all of us!

At this point, we truly would be happy with any of those. And I'm happy to say, I really mean that. Of course we want to be closer to family and somewhere in the West, but that may not happen and that is fine with us.

In the beginning of interview season, our prayers were "Please let us know what to rank" and there weren't any sure answers coming. So then we started praying "Please send us where we are needed and where is best for our family" and instead of getting a sure answer.. We felt peace with our list. That's all I have really wanted.. is feeling peace and knowing we are doing our best with what we know.

And here we are waiting for Match Day on March 18th.. Brian and me with our anxious (yet excited) smiles and Lydia with her "I just want pretzels and cheese and no cameras" face. Wahoo! 

January Bundles

I still can't believe that it is February. I am really trying to get used to writing 2016 and seeing it everywhere I go. January has been both good and frustrating to us.. There is always a bit of goodness and happiness if we look for it, but we have had a great deal of doctor visits as well. And those are rarely fun.

Lydia has been battling double ear infections for a couple weeks that don't seem to want to go away. So we have been back a lot. Between fevers and weird rashes that have driven us here as well..

Lydia has trigger thumb on both of her thumbs. This is where she isn't able to straighten her thumbs. Her right thumb is bent at a 90 degree angle and her left is at 45 degrees. It doesn't hurt her, but she does get frustrated when trying to open books or grab things with her thumbs. We have gone to an Pediatric Orthopedic surgeon to see if there are steps we can take to help her.

We'll decide by March if surgery is needed or if we can wait a few years and just watch them and see what happens.

This is truly how we have felt about this room at our doctor's.. every week.. And there have been a few weeks of multiples and up to 4 visits! What?!

Lydia's favorite toy in the world would be a book. She is obsessed and I'm not even kidding. This girl owns her own private library and she will sit for hours and just look at her books and be completely satisfied. She knows how to say book , though she isn't great with her "k's" and she will often speak gibberish as she looks through them as if she is reading them. I love it. I love having a little book lover.

My sister Raquel came to visit.. which easily made this January the best January we have had out of our 4 Januaries here. We did our usual Chicago Show-down.. Took her to Millennium Park and to the Field Museum and to the famous and delicious Wildberry and Portillos.. and of course had to top her visit with a visit to the Silo for the best deep dish pizza! It was amazing. We have been so blessed to have so many family members come out to visit us here. We definitely get lonely and so it always feels nice to see those you love. 

Lydia was in heaven to have her aunt here.. but so was I. I really do hope that we will be within driving distance when we move in a few months.

We also took a big leap of faith this month and said goodbye to our precious and beloved cat Minnie. After the big break of being home in Utah for 7 weeks and having her stay with our friend Lynn, we just felt very strongly that Lynn needed to have the cat.

With our current situation of moving and then being in limbo for a couple months while we looked for somewhere to live and whatnot-it just felt like Minnie needed a secure home and environment. Though I have cried because I have seriously loved and adored this cat.. we gave her to the best home in the world. She will be pampered and given the attention she needs and deserves.

It still is hard when I see a boot lying out in the corner of my eye and think it's the cat-or when Lydia tries to climb under the bed looking for the "hi titty". But I know we did what was right and needed. So long sweet Minnie.

With January being such a cold and frigid month, we have been SO blessed to have good neighbors just in our backyard who can walk over and play. Lydia and Lincoln are more like siblings and it is adorable to watch. They love playing together and it makes cold winter days go by that much faster and better.

So long January. We are ready to welcome a fresh February!