It is well with my soul....

Today has been a long day for various reasons... the work day was slow, so I know that it allowed the day to drag on. I got home and woke Matt up from his nap and we had sloppy joe's and macaroni and cheese for dinner. I always feel like such a kid when I eat these two items together for a meal. Funny enough, I feel like Mac and cheese is a comfort food for children, but might be a sign of depression or poverty for adults hahaha.... 

Anyway, recently, my family lost a dear friend, Pat Heavner, to a rare, aggressive form of cancer. I hate cancer. It really sucks... it sucks in animals, it sucks in people. Can we find a cure already? I don't know that there is a better way to say it, other than that this sucks. Anyway, I need to drive home and spend just a few hours with my mom and dad and Pat and her family. Though she won't be there in person, I know that she is there in spirit. She always had such an amazing spirit. I remember spending my time while I was a child picking daffodils across the road, while my mom got her taxes done with Pat or just while visiting. I don't think I'll ever pick another daffodil without thinking of Pat. The other day I was driving through UGA's campus and saw a hillside of daffodils. I thought immediately of Pat and how they were my favorite flower. What a wonderful memory to have of someone.... to think of someone when a flower blooms during the most beautiful, promising time of the year.

A hymn I love makes me think of Pat throughout this week... Matt is probably tired of me singing it while I'm doing other things in the house, but I think it's beautiful...

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll...

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul"

RIP Pat Heavner... You were just wonderful. Love you.

1 year of wedded bliss :)

Today, Matt and I have been married for 1 year. Of course, we've been together and friends for the last 9 years, so it's just another milestone, but this one's different. We're not just dating for another year.... we've been able to survive more hurdles, a move away from our families, and made some wonderful friends here in Indiana. And we only had each other here.... I think that's the thing that has strengthened our bond together the most. Just Matt and I. Today is a good day, as I thank God for the opportunity to be one half of the most precious relationship.  Next we'll be moving on to another adventure, and spending the next year in Athens, GA. Many people don't understand why we want to continue going through internships, and stressful residency applications, and moving all over the place, but they don't need to understand. Matt and I understand, and we know that the plan for our life still has time to be laid out in front of us. For now, we'll continue to trust in our relationship, each other, and God... all other things will fall into place.

Since it's our 1 year anniversary, I wanted to post the reading from our wedding... it means so much to us. Have a wonderful day!

"I appeal to you, Matthew and Selena, that you present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.  Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed to what is good and pleasing to God. 


Have gifts that differ; use them to strengthen and support each other and to give glory to God.


Let your love be genuine; hate what is deceptive and cruel, hold fast to what is good, right, and loving. Love and honor one another with mutual respect and forbearance. 


Be sensitive and generous toward God's needy people. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other and so far as it depends on you, live peaceable with all. Don't let evil overcome you, but overcome evil with good. Hold firmly to faith, hope and love, knowing that the greatest of these is love."

Keeping the Faith

Please continue to pray for my cousin Crissie Carpenter, her husband Andy Carpenter, and their soon-to-be newborn, Landon. They are such special people who I love deeply, and they have been struck by a terrible tragedy. I am constantly in awe by the amount of people that have surrounded this couple and their families with love, support, and most importantly, prayer. There are people all over the world who have been touched in some way by the love that Andy has for life, God, and his country, and the amazing love he shared with Crissie. God's plan is not always clear to us, but I know that he will bless Crissie's life with a beautiful baby boy soon who will, no doubt, remind her every day of her handsome husband in so many ways. What a blessing baby Landon will be in the midst of such uncertainty.

I continue to pray for those who are still fighting for the United States in countries around the world. I give thanks for the soldiers who risk their lives to preserve our freedom and especially those who were able to provide care to Andy as he was wounded. Most of all, I'm thankful that I have been blessed with a family that can come together, rather than fall apart, during times of stress and doubt. Lord, please give us all a bit more strength today than we had yesterday, and help us to trust you and the plan you have in store for each of us.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" ~ Psalm 34:18

Anxiously Waiting

Hello all,

I'm really excited about the news that next week will bring. Monday morning we should know if Selena got matched for a Veterinary internship and, if so, where. No matter the outcome of the news, we will know where we will be living next year. As a person who has lived in NC my whole life, I'm really giddy at the idea of living somewhere else for a year. The drawback will be the distance from our family and friends, but this isn't a permanent move.

Monday's news will set us on our course for our next adventure, and I welcome it gladly. Till next time, stay classy.

Matt

"Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be."

Today was a good day. I don't know the score (it arrives via snail mail), but I know that I can legally practice veterinary medicine in North America. :) The online score portal just says PASS.... who knew!? Apparently everyone but me knew. Isn't it amazing the faith that other people have in you when you feel like you have very little in yourself? The Lord works in amazing ways and he has truly blessed me with the ability to pursue my dreams and with a support system of amazing people that are always rooting for you.

Props to my mom, dad, and Matt, especially... they never stop believing in me and always remind me to believe in myself.

Today was a good day.

"Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become."

Email came today announcing that NAVLE scores will be posted early next week.... all I can say is, "AHHHHHH!" Just a week until I know if I need to start studying again or if I can have a celebration cocktail! :) Unfortunately, all I'll know at first (online) is Pass or Fail until I receive the official score report via snail mail. Guess that's all that really matters anyway!

Second upcoming big date - February 7, 2011. On this date I will find out whether I'm heading off on an exciting new adventure for a small animal rotating internship for 1 year OR if i'm getting my CV ready to mail to various clinics to find a real job.

Change is coming.... change is good. It's scary too.

With all the recent stress and worry that I've been dealing with about school and life and just generally being overwhelmed, I thought I'd remind myself of this quote every morning:

"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy."

And another for Matt, just in case he gets worried about not exactly knowing what his life has in store for him:

"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much."

I'll leave this blog post with a reminder for Matt and I both.... about the amazing love we share: "The hours I spend with you I look upon as sort of a perfumed garden, a dim twilight, and a fountain singing to it. Other men it is said have seen angels, but I have seen thee and thou art enough."

"For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work" - Doug Larson

It's been a really long time since my last update.... I feel pretty sure that I said that last time, and even made a promise to myself to keep updating, but somehow time slipped away from me and Matt and we just haven't found the time in the last year. That's right... a whole year! I can't believe it's been that long.

I'm trudging through clinical rotations and Matt is working hard all the time. I'm applying for an internship in small animal medicine/ surgery, so we'll figure out where we'll be for the next year in February (in addition to finding out if I passed my national board exam). If I don't match up to any program, I'll be looking for a job, so only God knows our path for next year. It could be just about anywhere, considering I've applied all over for internships. Wherever we end up, we'll be together, and that means we will be happy anywhere :)

Wedding planning is coming along nicely... we've been able to get deposits paid, DJ's booked, flower arrangements/ florist stuff planned, dress altered, veil designed... and the list goes on and on. I have bridal pictures made at the end of February in Asheville, which should be a great day :) We're getting so excited! One of my first statements just after midnight on New Year's Eve was "Can you believe it? We're finally able to say we're getting married THIS year!!" Time is passing so fast.... Just a few short months from now, a dream will come true and I will finally graduate as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. A few weeks later, it will be time to marry the man of my dreams.

Every day I worry about everything... where we're going, did I pass, how do we pay the bills, what's next for me and for my life together with Matt. It's exhausting! But I know things will end up working out just like they're supposed to. God has blessed us in so many ways... most importantly, by placing us in each other's lives and giving us a supportive life-line of family and friends. Life is good.