hello again. nice to see you.

hello again.

it's been awhile.

The past 10 months or so have been a whirlwind. A lot has happened...

ONE - We are having a baby!! In August :) We announced to the family on Christmas and to the world a couple of months later. And now we are only two months away from Evelyn's arrival! It is absolute madness, but we could not be happier. I've had her nursery ready for her arrival for, oh, 3 months already. (Can you tell I am one excited mama?!) I just cannot wait to hold her in my arms and to see her sweet face!

TWO - The Hive Church is alive and well in North Charleston. The church plant that Mikey and I are apart of will have its 1 year anniversary in August, and we are so proud of our church and its vision..making disciples who make disciples. Preaching Truth from the Word of God. Sharing our lives with fellow believers…encouraging one another, laughing and crying together, discussing important things and not-so-important things together. And working to make an impact on the city around us. It is beautiful. And I am so thankful for our church.

THREE - I have chosen my career. After much struggle, heartache, and deliberation this year, I have settled on OB/GYN. I am extremely excited about this choice. OB was my last clerkship of my 3rd year of medical school, and frankly, one of the lowest things on my list coming into school. However, 3rd year and impending motherhood really showed me what is most important to me in my future career…

• Be able to help people. Duh. That's why I went to medical school in the first place! But it helps to remind myself of this ultimate goal, and it also helps me direct which area I feel like God has best equipped me to do this through
• Have some life outside of work…time for my amazing husband, for my daughter, for my family and my friends and my dogs…and time for myself! This is ultimately what led me away from general surgery, where a balance lifestyle is much more difficult (but not impossible) to come by.
• Get to do surgery. I couldn't give up the OR completely. I tried to love other specialties, but the drama, excitement, and tangibility of the OR is too intoxicating for me. I need it in my life.
• Get to do medicine. I also really enjoy complicated patient with presentations that give me a real puzzle to solve. Getting to do surgery AND medicine…who can resist that? Not this girl.

And SO…I chose OB/GYN, which gives me a nice mix of surgery and medicine, the opportunity to shape my career to have more of a life outside of the hospital, and the amazing ability to help women through crazy times in their lives…pregnancy, birth, hospital stays, gynecologic surgeries, battles with cancer, and plain ole year-to-year life! And I really, really want to do medical work abroad through programs like the fistula clinics in Africa, where I can leave a lasting impact on the women I meet there. Basically, I am pretty stoked about my choice, and I feel like it is exactly where God wants me.

FOUR - I am less than a year away from being a real doctor! This seems like absolute madness. But all of the "fourth years" who are in the class ahead of me have now graduated, are officially "M.D."s, and are about to start residency programs across the country! And the thought of that being me in a year is magical and rewarding and terrifying all at the same time. I can't believe it is that close. So the next couple of months are filled with taking step 2 of boards (June 27!), completing my externship in OB/GYN (July!), having a baby (August!), and applying for residency (September!)…then residency interviews October through January. And in March, we'll find out where we matched and will be spending the next four years of our lives…whew.

So to sum it all up: baby, church, OB/GYN, and almost a doctor! :) Now you know why I have been a little too busy to post on this blog. However, I hope to rectify that, if for no other reason than to give me a place to share the joys and madness of having a newborn and finishing up medical school over the next year…but I am so blessed to have family and friends who try to keep up with us and what we are up to, so I hope this is cool for you too :) Talk to you in a few days!