Update!

So here it is, three years after Steve and I started the long journey of Physician Assistant school and we are finally done.  While only one of us got a degree, I think there really should be a few degrees that go along with graduating from that tough program for the spouse and family.  Such as, Master of Providing Quality Chocolate At Lightening Speed, Master of Unnecessary (for him) Physical Exams, Master of Listening to Crying Over the Phone.  Truly, I couldn't have done the past three years without Steve or our family.  But, for all of us, it's over!  I graduated on May 24th, on a gorgeous, slightly chilly and windy Colorado morning with some of the important people in attendance.  (But attendance wasn't necessary for me to know and appreciate all of the prayers, emails, texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages of encouragement over the past three years.)

What next?  Well, the "what next" has already happened!  Exactly one week after my graduation, I became eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE).  This test was, in a word, daunting.  One of those that no matter how much I studied, I still wouldn't be completely prepared.  It covered everything.  It was scary, y'all!  So, what would a crazy like me do?  Oh, just take it on the very first day I could.  And, praise the Lord, I passed!  I have always had post-test anxiety, much more so than pre-test anxiety.  This was the worst!  I was so stressed for about 12 days, convinced I had failed.  Poor Steve, had to hear every day about how I had failed the test.  Lucky for him (and me!) I passed, first try.  Why is this important, you might ask, to pass on the first try??  Welllllll....


Because.....


I have a job!  (nope, not pregnant).  Back in March, I started job searching and praying for the perfect job at the perfect time in the perfect location to just fall in my lap.  I knew I wanted to do peds and I knew I wanted to live somewhere rural.  I was lucky to spend two months in rural Colorado and just realized how much I missed living in a smaller area.  I made a list of all the places in rural Colorado that were pediatrics and started cold-calling.  Now, let me tell you something about myself, in case you didn't know.  I am AWFUL on the telephone.  It's hard for me to hear, it's hard for me to talk, it's just not my forte.  Seriously.  So cold-calling places for jobs? Scary, to say the least.  Well, one place I called and talked to the office manager for about 15 minutes.  She was incredibly sweet, but they just didn't have a place for a PA at that time.  She took my CV and said she'd call if they were looking to hire, maybe in a year or so.  Well, two weeks later, their PA announced she was leaving the practice for personal reasons and so they were looking for a PA!  One phone interview, one 1.5 day in person interview later, I got the job!  It's in SW Colorado (Montrose, to be exact).

As far as that great husband of mine, after a few months of "definitely, yeah you can work remotely" to "almost definitely no, you can't work remotely", Steve is now going to be working at the same job, just remotely from our new house out west.  For the first time in our marriage, we will be living in a house with a yard and a fence (for the dog) in a cute, sleepy little town that still has three grocery stores, a Wal-Mart, Target, and Sports Authority.  So we aren't moving to the boonies.  :)  The area that we are moving to is very outdoorsy and with no crazy Denver traffic.  We are moving to a house that is outside of town....which means my commute will be about 8 minutes.  Seriously, people.  8 minutes???  Heaven.  Yes, our drive home will be a little bit longer and our flights will be a little more expensive.  But to be able to find a job in pediatrics in a rural setting in Colorado is such a long shot.  To have prayed for something so specific and to see it manifested so quickly and obviously was seriously amazing.  We serve an awesome God, you know?  So our next adventure begins.  I am nervous about starting as a real practicing PA-C; it seems so unreal, you know?  I am praying really hard about that!  We are moving to a small town, a first for Steve...I am praying really hard about that too!  So many changes in life, but we are confident in the grace and comfort of Christ to lead us through tough times ahead!  Thank you for all of your love, prayers and support over the past three years (and even longer than that).  We are blessed for our family and friends.