Lately.....

Since we've returned from Jamaica our lives have been quite chaotic!

Andrew has been super busy with work, including weekend duty (bleh!) He has also been going to physical therapy to regain strength in his right hand from where it was broken - he is improving quickly and his doctor is happy with his progress!

Soon after we got back I got really sick with a gnarly case of strep throat and bronchitis in my right lung - after struggling with it for a few days I finally gave in and went to the doctor for a shot and some antibiotics. I don't get sick often but when I do it usually puts me on my back - this was no exception! I was laid up on the couch, going stir crazy, for a little over a week. Andrew took such great care of me doing everything from fixing me soup, cleaning the house, getting my favorite movies, to just playing with my hair and holding me to help me feel better. I was grateful to have our wedding and honeymoon pictures so that I was able to work on our wedding photo album during that time so I didn't feel completely like an invalid! Once I was finally healthy I got hard to work at sorting out my school situation - as most of you know, I'm in pursuing being an elementary school teacher. Unfortunately, this created a pretty sticky situation since most universities don't offer complete teaching BA degrees and teacher certifications online. After hours (and hours and hours) of research, phone calls, and general frustration I finally found the perfect school - Ashford University! Its based in Iowa (who would've thought?!) and they were amazingly helpful and accomodating! My advisor handled pretty much everything, expedited my acceptance based on my grades from my unofficial transcripts, awarded me a military spouse scholarship, and got me set up to start classes on June 14th all in a matter of three days! Of course, I had a TON of follow-up paper work, phone calls, emails, and some more chaos but God put His hand on the situation and on Tuesday I started my class! Andrew was extremely patient and supportive through it all, cheering me on and comforting me when I got overly-stressed; he arranged celebratory dinner dates on the day I was accepted and the day I began classes (reminding me that I really do have the best husband in the world!)

Meanwhile, Tristan was moved to Tennessee (with his mother) at the end of May. Mom and Dad #2 (as I affectionately refer to my in-laws) have gotten to spend some time with Tristan since he has been back in Tennessee which is GREAT! We were so excited that they were able to get time with him and we are praying that it can become a regular thing! Andrew was also able to set up for us to have Tristan here with us July 14th-August 2nd, which we are both looking forward to! Hopefully we'll continue to have good developments with this situation.

 My parents came to visit as well, but I'll give that visit its own post since it was such a fun-filled, jam-packed trip!