Finding out the Big News

It was the day after my birthday party in October and it began like any other day, but when it was over, our world had changed forever.

There was the surprise of a postive test, some tears, a few hugs, and a call to Mom. 

Immediately followed by a movie date to see Pitch Perfect to allow the news to sink in.

P.S.  I don't think I fully appreciated the hilariousness of that movie until seeing it for the second time this past week.  Perhaps my mind was elsewhere the first time. :)


October 28, 2012

At almost 16 weeks along, the news is STILL sinking in.  No more morning sickness, no belly, no maternity clothes, no movement yet, and no gender reveal until 20 weeks, but it's getting more real every day.  And we are very excited.

A New Year

January 1, 2013.

It's hard to believe that it's already the start of another year.  I feel like every year just goes by even more quickly than the last and 2012 was no exception.

Planning for the future has become a "norm" in our household.  As a medical school family, it's hard not to look to the future.  We think in terms of school years and terms.  When we finish basic sciences, after the Step is over, once we get through 3rd year are phrases I hear and say all to often. 

Just last night, Josh and I spent a couple of hours planning his electives for 4th year including elective choices and dates because they had to be in at midnight to be at the top of the stack for next year. It's crazy to think that his last year of medical school is right around the corner, that in seven months we will be finishing up residency applications and by this time next year, we will only be a handful of months away from the end of medical school.  If all works according to plan, Josh will finish his rotations late March/early April of 2014 and graduate in May 2014.

It's all very exciting and yet I have to say that as much as I look forward to what God has in store for us in the years to come, I am quite enjoying living in the here and now.  I have made a serious effort to stop living in the past over the last fews months, but I don't want to live for the future either. I'm living in the present and I gotta tell you, there's lots of exciting things happening RIGHT NOW.

Like this for instance:

Baby Scurlock arriving July 2013!

So here is to 2013, may we enjoy every single moment, in the moment.

The Spirit of Giving

I posted quite some time ago about my involvement in a project called Operation Grenada Child.  Well, that project wrapped up last week as 80, yes I said 80 shoeboxes filled with Christmas gifts were handed out to the children of the Limes After School Program in Grenada, West Indies. 

I of course was not present for the gift distribution, but I was lucky enough to be in Grenada when all of the boxes arrived.  And am of course thrilled that so many pictures were taken by volunteers during the days festivities, specifically a saint of a man named James Forester who gave up his time to come photograph the day.  I cry happy tears every time I look through them.  The pictures fill me with the Christmas spirit more than Christmas trees, presents, stockings, and holiday lights ever could.

I KNOW that these children will remember this special Christmas for a long long time and I am so very honored that I had even a little part in the happiness that these gifts brought them. 

Here's a video of the days events, complete with games, reindeer puppet making, present opening, and a special lunch.

May it touch your heart just as it has touched mine. 

Merry Christmas.

A Bit of Closure

...and some sunshine too.

The trip to Grenada is over.  After 11 days in island paradise with my Limes kids, I feel like I may finally be able to move forward.  Of course I will always miss Grenada and the kids.  And I enjoyed every second of every moment that I spent with them, but I feel like after the trip, I was finally able to start letting that part of my life go.  Maybe someday I will go back and I will continue to pray for those children daily but it's time to move on.  And I'm finally okay with that. 

I have faith that there will always be volunteers who will fall in love with those kids just like I did and they will make sure that the children are getting the love and support that they deserve.  I will continue to remain as active as I can through projects like Operation Grenada Child and any other things that come along, but my life is in California, with Josh, and there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be.

So here's some photos of my time in Grenada.  Moments I'll never forget and treasure forever.

Life Lately

Well it's been somewhat hectic.  Which may account for my lack of blogging in recent weeks. Maybe it's just this time of year, you know, Thanksgiving, Christmas, seeing family and friends regularly.  Or maybe I've just been lazy.  Either way, I'm vowing to do better.

So what's been going on with us?

*Well, Josh started his surgical rotation last week.  His first two weeks are in Orthopedic Surgery which was his elective choice. He could choose between Ortho, Ear Nose and Throat, and Burn.  He listed Ortho first and got it, however I'm not sure he was thrilled that it was the first two weeks. Oh well. Students were off on Monday for the Veteran's day holiday, but don't you worry, even with Monday off, he has still managed to work over 75 hours this week...and counting.  He's still at the hospital right now.  The good news is, in the moments I've gotten to say a few words to him, since most of this week he's been working or sleeping, he says he REALLY likes surgery.

*I got a job!  Yay! I started working at Redlands Gymnastics Club two weeks ago.  I'm only working about 15 hours a week, but that is perfect for me.  The pay is just so so, but it gets me out of the house regularly and keeps me interacting with persons other than my dog. :)  Good timing considering the surgery rotation is 12 weeks long!

*Operation Grenada Child has been breezing right along.  In fact, almost all of the boxes have arrived at my apartment and the plan is to ship them out tomorrow!  It's been so fun to see what kind of things people have put in their shoeboxes.  They have all come in looking amazing and I just know the kids are going to be so thrilled. I mean I don't know if many of the little girls have ever gotten a barbie doll or Dora doll brand new in the original packaging.  Or a little boy who's ever had his own set of brand spankin' new toy cars or a new football.  I just can't wait.  And I can't wait to get these boxes out of my house.  They are taking over!!

*Speaking of Grenada...I leave a week from today for my 11 day visit!  In seven short days I will be reunited with my island in the sun and my Limes kids.  Ahh there really just are no words to describe my excitement.

So that's what has been going on with us.  What have you been up to?

An Update About Internal Medicine

Remember back in September when I did THIS post about our first weeks in IM?  Well, we are in the home stretch people.  Josh takes his shelf exam on Thursday afternoon and then we have a break!  Okay, maybe it's not much of a break, really just a long weekend before 12 weeks of surgery start on Tuesday, but still, we're excited. 

So how have the last 8 or so weeks gone you ask?  Well, pretty much like the first four.  Josh worked, a lot (one week over 100 hours).  He learned, a lot.  And we are still happy with our decision to come to ARMC. 

Last week, he had his oral exam (20% of your grade) given by the attendings at Arrowhead.  This was much like a "round-robin" type of question and answer session.  Each student was asked a couple of questions by the attending in front of their fellow students.  The students were given a list of topics that they could be asked beforehand.  He said it went well, the questions were not meant to be tricky, and he knew the answer to every question asked. 

So Thursday is the shelf exam and the students have had this week off to study which they all appreciate, but unfortunately, they are required to study in the library at ARMC.  Which personally, I think is kind of silly, but I guess if you are a procrastinator then this forces you to prepare for the exam. 

What else have we learned?

Well, a few weeks ago, SGU's Office of Career and Guidance held a lengthy meeting about what to expect during the next year and a half as far as applying to residency, scheduling 4th year electives, and all that jazz.  It was helpful and if you are interested, most of the information talked about at the meeting can be found on their website. 

Also, as soon as you start 3rd year, consider writing your CV or Curriculum Vitae.  It's basically a resume that you give to attendings to use as a guide when writing your Letters of Recommendation and you also have to include it in your Master File at SGU.  There are guidelines on the OCG website for how to write it.

I say this because you may end up like Josh and want a LOR from your very first rotation and if you are a slacker too busy to think about writing it early, then your wife ends up writing it for you during your last week of the rotation while you are studying for your shelf exam. 

Wife of the Year Award right here. Just sayin.

Just get it done early.  Save yourself  your wife the stress.

Also, sign up at www.sguclinicals.com for up-to-date information regarding the clincial years.  It has definitely been a great resource for us me.

So that's it.  IM is almost over and what a great learning experience it has been for both of us!  Can't wait to tell you guys the details about surgery!

Happy Halloween

I'm sitting at home on Halloween night, watching Hocus Pocus (the all-time best Halloween movie ever in case you were curious) and not one trick-or-treater has come by.  Not ONE!  Sad.  Guess I'll be forced to eat all the candy I bought on my own. Darn.

Josh is busy studying for his oral exam for his Internal Medicine rotation.  Did I mention he's done with IM next week?  Crazy right?  On to 12 weeks of surgery soon. 

So back to Halloween.

We carved pumpkins last night. 

Wait, let me rephrase that statement.  Ahem.  I carved pumpkins last night. 

Josh has never been a fan of pumpkin picking or pumpking carving.  So I guess the fact that I got him to the pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin was a success in itself.  And the fact that I got him to scoop out his pumpkin was just a bonus.  Getting him to actually carve it would have been a freakin' miracle.

I mean I just don't get it.  He looks so thrilled while he's doing it.  I can't imagine why he doesn't look forward to this every year.

Maybe you have to be an October born baby to love all things pumpkin? 

At least half of our household was enjoying it!

I think my pumpkins turned out pretty cute.  Too bad no one has come up to my door to enjoy them other than me.  Oh well.  Either way, Happy Halloween from the Scurlock's!