MY new little life..

So much has changed as we have made our HUGE transition from Provo BYU life to Kirksville Med school life. We have adapted to less time together, a smaller town (that we adore), new goals, different grocery stores, MUCH cheaper rent, new daily routines, and tons more. We have loved the changes we have made together. 
More recently though, I made some changes of my own. Now let me tell you, before I even graduated high school I wanted to be a Speech Language Therapist. I went through undergrad loving it. When Tay and I found a town that had both his med program and my grad program so that I could actually be a practicing SLP, I thought that the stars had aligned and that our perfect life was starting! Together we were gonna save the world, one patient/speech client at a time. Well... back in October I started having very unexpected health problems that were somehow related to school. To sum it all up, I was a VERY unhappy person, in ways I have never ever experienced EVER in my life... ever. It was terrifying. It was like the old me was staring at the mirror at that this new confused and sad me wondering who the heck I was and where the heck the happy me went. So, I withdrew.
Holy COW! Withdrawing from SCHOOL??? What?!? That is NOT me, I am NOT a quitter and this was my dream... I thought. But, I had so many amazing people supporting me in doing what was best for ME. The minute I withdrew, a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I eventually got the old me back and I feel as grand as ever :) I honestly think it was one of the hardest, but also the best decision I ever made. It still makes me sad, thinking that my hopes and dreams didn't work out perfectly. But, I guess that's what life is about... making plans, seeing some work out beautifully immediately and seeing others work out, not at all how you expected, over time. I still LOVE speech... I still love thinking about what test I would give to assess a client and then what I would do in therapy... I still love pinning great ideas for clients on Pinterest. I hope it works out sometime, someday, but the biggest thing I've learned through all of this is that it doesn't have to be TODAY. 

So what the heck do I do with all my time??? Well, let me tell you:

The Top Five Reasons Mynewlittlelife ROCKS!

1. Stress free vacas!

ALL OF US :)

Sorry to all those who are in school, but I realized the nicest thing about NOT being in school is that you don't have to think about it ALL THE TIME. There is no more, "Oh, I should be studying or reading or planning!" No way, sir! I just think about the now... and gosh, I love it! Over Thanksgiving, we went to St Louis. We stayed in hotel in the City (thank you, priceline) and just explored. We went ice skating in the city park, saw the Gateway Arch, and went to zoo... we even had thanksgiving dinner/lunch in this cute 50's diner. It was perfect. We were also able to go home to Maryland for Christmas with my family. It was the first time everyone has been together in like 3 years. Crazy!! We had a blast!

2. Twin Baby Girls
 Ok, think of the cutest baby you have ever seen. Make it a girl in cute pink flowery clothes. Add a smile with dimples that crinkles up her entire face. Then DOUBLE it! That is my day. Be jealous! I started watching twin nine month old baby girls after Thanksgiving. They are seriously the cutest, most happy, adorable little people in the world. I'm kind of in love. 

The K-ville 1st ward lovely ladies after getting
FIRST place a the stake V ball tourny

3. Young Women
I was called to be the Laurel Class Adviser back in October. For those of you that don't know what the heck that means, I teach the girls ages 16-18 a few sundays a month at church and go to their weeknight activities. Because I am no longer in school, I have gotten to spend WAY more time on my calling. I now can attend Wednesday night mutual and I have time to go to Nauvoo for stake activities. I've also been able to go out and see them play basketball, sing in the school musical, etc. BLESSING!!!




  4. Personal Progress
So this kind of ties in with Young Women. During the six years of being a young woman (age 12-18) you have the opportunity to work on Personal Progress. 

The very very Beginnings of my quiet books... thanks to
Kari and Pinterest for some grand ideas!

This program focuses on developing skills/knowledge/faith in each of the values: Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity, and Virtue. Who knew that you can also complete the program as a leader??? I did it when I was 18, but know that redoing it can only help me grow more. 
I am currently working on a Quiet Book for all the cutie little red headed children of mine that are still just a twinkle in my eye. I have also started memorizing The Living Christ... which is NOT easy, but I have already learned tons! Again... BLESSING!

5. Home <3
Ok, so I admit it, I have kind of always been one of those women who found pride in the fact that I was going to WORK. I just knew that I would always be able to find the perfect balance between being a career woman and being a lovely mom/wife. But something I've found out about myself is that I love being home. I know I don't have crazy kids at my feet yet and you moms are probably like, geeesh this girl is CLUELESS... haha and maybe that's true. But, when I look at my future grad degree-less, I actually find myself surprisingly content. Like maybe home is where I've really wanted to be all along. BUT we will see... there is still so much life ahead. 

What an amazing, crazy, sometimes disappointing but oh so beautiful thing this time here on earth is... And that is what my new little life is all about!