Wouden Christmas Card Blog

Here is a little update on the last year of the Woudens!

Our life in Logan has been charging full speed ahead this past year. We feel is has been our busiest year to date. We bought our first car together back in March and are enjoying the joys of adulthood and having a car payment :)  We are now teaching the Family History class in our ward, and as you can see from the picture below of our first week we taught, it's going really well (don't worry, a few people eventually showed up).

For our 3rd anniversary in August, we went to Park City for the day and spoiled ourselves at the outlet mall, got a couples massage (thanks John and Kelsey!), and ended with dinner at the Prairie Schooner in Ogden. We'd highly recommend it (both marriage and the restaurant).

#DAN

Dan had THREE surgeries this year. Yes, three. I blogged about the first surgery on his nose here, but he then had a small surgery near his eye in July, and then on his ankle in October. Goals for 2016, no surgery for Dan.

He officially had his LAST, first day of school! Honestly, I was definitely the most excited about this Dan was. Dan has been working all year as a facilitator for Utah State's distance education classes. This has probably been the biggest blessing for us. It's a miracle for Dan to have a job that he can go to in between classes, do homework during, and always have finals week + holidays off... best job EVER!

Dan is still a big Jazz fan, and I support this as long as they win and we get 50% off Papa John's pizza the next day. He also still loves Aggie football and can't wait to get into church basketball come January. Dan discovered a new passion during downtime with his ankle surgery... Pinterest. He's convinced his mom and designed a whole new layout for her kitchen. I'm just hoping Dan can stay focused enough to graduate while taking this project on...

#MEG

Besides playing nurse to Dan, I have been working tirelessly at 2 jobs for six months now. This summer I traveled to Helena, Montana + Bellingham, Washington for my job with Western SARE. Traveling with my coworkers has been a hoot + a holler, love them a LOT! Then in June, I started a second job at a call center 3 nights a week, and Saturdays.  It has been a pretty humbling experience and definitely made me prioritize my life with having such little time (see British TV shows below).

My big projects outside of work have been scrapbooking my life. The only scrapbook I have is one page of the day I was born, and I'm pretty sure the hospital made it and gave it to my parents. It took me almost a year, but I finally got my mission scrapbooked and consider this a HUGE achievement! Now I'll start working on my college days and high school, then work my way back. Wish me luck, 26 years is a lot of scrapbooking to catch up on...

I also have become obsessed with British TV shows. I am devastated that Downton Abbey has finished its final season, EAGERLY waiting for Sherlock to give us something to watch, and thoroughly enjoying Call the Midwife. My British accent is improving each month.

 

#BLESSED

We have seen so many miracles this year and have a lot to be thankful for. Wishing you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS, and leave you with this thought:

 "We discover he is more than the babe in Bethlehem, more than the carpenter’s son, more than the greatest teacher ever to live. We come to know him as the Son of God. He never fashioned a statue, painted a picture, wrote a poem, or led an army. He never wore a crown or held a scepter or threw around his shoulder a purple robe. His forgiveness was unbounded, his patience inexhaustible, his courage without limit. Jesus changed men. He changed their habits, their opinions, their ambitions. He changed their tempers, their dispositions, their natures. He changed men’s hearts."

Released!

#RELEASED

Well it happened. After 2 1/2 years I was released from being the Relief Society President! I have some mixed emotions about it. Next to being married to Dan, this is longest commitment I've ever had in my life! Longer than my mission (and that felt like a long time)!

Being a Relief Society President is a weird thing. And I have to admit, I hate the title of that calling. I don't like the idea of being "president" of something. I feel like people instantly develop this stereotype about you. To be honest, when I think of someone being a relief society president, the image that comes to mind is this: bad haircut, ugly clothes, annoyingly spiritual. I hope I broke one or two of those stereotypes.

#BLESSED

I'm so grateful I had this calling. Holy guacamole have I learned SO much and been so inspired by the women I've met. I've seen miracles and heartache, laughed and cried, and made some of the DEAREST, most wonderful friends!!!

 

Jess, Meg, Monica and Melissa

 Becca, Shan, Meg and Jess

 Shan, Becca, Meg and Court

 Court, Becca, Meg and Jess

#WORRIES

My biggest worries about being released were:

•  What am I going to do with all my time now? Before I got this calling, I was really struggling with being married to a student. I hated that I got home from work and was ready to play and spend time with Dan, and he was just getting started on spending the next solid 6 hours doing homework. I watched way too many TV shows, and was bored. This calling changed all of that! I really didn't want to fall back into this meaningless way of life. Cue working a second job! I'd way rather have the calling, but it's nice having the added income.

• What will my next calling be? I always complain about Sunday School. I feel like the lessons are SO boring. So I always sort of hoped Dan and I would be able to teach a Sunday School class and try to make it something more exciting. Welp, say hello to the new Family History Instructors! So far it's been a lot of fun, trying to come up with ways to keep peoples attention in a class that definitely has a stereotype for being BORING! And it's nice we only have to teach once a month :)

• Who are they going to call that I could feel confident in handing over the lives of all these wonderful friends and women I've spent so much time with?! This might sound a little conceited and like I'm the only person who could do this calling, but it's not like that AT ALL. You want to know that you've left the ones you love in good hands, that the new person will know what they need and make sure they get it. That they'll be involved in their lives and be there for the good and bad. Well thank the high heavens, I can rest assured! The new relief society presidency is just that! I have no worries whatsoever and I think that was the biggest relief of all.

 

No Chocolate For A Year- DID IT!

Just some follow-up thoughts on my "not eating chocolate for a year" challenge...

Was it hard? Yes!

Was it worth it? Yes!

Will I do it again? No! Life is too short to live without chocolate!

The whole experience really ended up teaching me a lot. A few things include:

• I can do hard things!
• I can have self control, especially when it comes to my appetite.
• The feeling of improving my self discipline was pretty awesome! Self discipline is SO hard. But honestly, it's helped be more disciplined in other areas of my life besides not eating chocolate. This has probably been the biggest benefit of this challenge
• I have so much more empathy for people who have severe addictions and are trying to quit them.  I had dreams at least once a month, usually twice about eating chocolate. A lot of times I would eat a whole plate of chocolate chip cookies in my dreams! It was pretty ridiculous. The addiction was/is REAL people.
• Doing something like this really makes celebrating your birthday way more fun! I was way less focused on getting a year older, and way more excited about the prospect of eating chocolate!

What was the first chocolate I had after the challenge?

- Dan made me chocolate chip pancakes for my birthday. I had told him that's what I wanted the morning of my birthday, but it was interesting that when I sat down in front of those giant chocolate chip pancakes, the first thing I felt was fear! I was not expecting that! I had just told myself no for so long, that it wasn't so easy to switch to yes. Which surprised me! But I did eat the pancakes, and they were delicious!

Do I still like chocolate after not eating it for a year?

- You betcha! But it's definitely not in the same way. I can taste the wax WAY more than I ever could. The only "cheap" chocolate I've liked is Kit Kats. I ate a Reese's and it was NASTY! Which is shocking because I LOVED Reeses before. Apparently I'm a bit of a chocolate snob now and can only eat Ghirardelli and Lindt truffles...

Did eating chocolate make me sick?

- Yeeeeaaaahhhh. It did. So after my mound of chocolate chip pancakes, I came to work to find a bag of chocolate doughnuts on my desk, and two packages of brownies. We had chocolate cake with lunch. By about 3:30, I was SICK. Mind you, I didn't eat any of the brownies, and only had one doughnut, and tiny slice of cake. But don't worry, I still had my birthday party with a chocolate fondue fountain and a 16 layer chocolate cake to go home to :) Yeah it was delicious and awesome and feeling like crap was totally worth it!  But I still have a pretty low chocolate tolerance.

My friend Shan made this cake. IT WAS DIVINE. Anything she makes is heavenly! In fact, if you live in Cache Valley, you should check out her blog and order some meals from her! You'll never go back! http://mealsbyshan.blogspot.com/

I think every person should try doing something like this once in their life. It really was a fun, challenging experience and I feel like a stronger person for doing it!

Dear 18 Year Old Me,

I've been seeing a lot of pictures posted on social media of college and high school graduations in the last month. Also, for some reason after 8 years of being graduated from high school (wow 8 years sounds FOREVER ago), someone finally took the initiative to create a "Morgan High Class of 2007" Facebook group... talk about a blast from the past! The combination of these things has caused me to reflect a lot on my life since that momentous occasion of being 18, newly graduated, and thrust into the world. I thought I would be fun to write a letter to my former 18 year old self, now that I have a little perspective :)

Dearest Meg,

Congratulations on graduating from Morgan High School's class of 2007! It will be a whirlwind of feelings for the next few months, but don't worry- life is really only going to get better, and busier. There are so many things I want to tell you about our life, but first I feel I should tell you the things you definitely did right!

It was definitely the best decision EVER to never kiss a boy in high school. Trust me, you'll never regret it! Also, even though the summer before senior year pretty much was the worst thing ever when you took those summer classes, it was totally worth it because you'll graduate from college when we're 20. And not paying tuition or having to study for one more final, will be the best thing of your life! So good job and way to power through. 

So nobody ever told you when you decided to moved to Logan and go to Utah State, that it was winter 9 months out of the year there. Just drop the money up front and buy a full body parka, similar to the picture below. Because the inside of your nose will actually freeze, your boots will never keep the snow and water out, and you should be aware of seasonal depression because the sun never shines. Just go to the Rage Salon on Tuesdays and Thursday when they have $2 tanning, and remind your body what warmth and light feels like. You'll survive. (Because you're not just going to live there 3 years like you planned, it's going to be more like 6.5 years.... yeah I know... mentally prepare now)

Also, even though you really like your major in Public Relations, you may want to seriously consider teaching kindergarten. Because we really didn't think through how completely awesome it would be to have summers off... just saying. But you will meet some of the most amazing people in your PR major who will be life friends... so the choice is yours! (But seriously... summers off... think about it...)

Now this part is very important, so PAY ATTENTION! The best things that will ever happen to you will come from making your own path. Without spoiling too much, you're going to be living in Atlanta and going on a mission, and you will be changed so much for the better. So don't be scared! Also, your second year of college you are going to live in an apartment with 5 girls you've never met before. Again, one of the best things that will ever happen to you. Venturing into the unknown, really seems to work out for us! (also, can we talk about how hilarious this picture is please?!)

Our leadership skills will really be awful... you might want to read more books about that kind of stuff and save us some grief (because I still haven't read this book...)

Make sure you become a true Aggie, and become one with someone you don't know. It makes a way better story! (and no, this isn't a pic of us!)

But seriously, whatever you do, GO ON A MISSION! Go on a mission, go on a mission. Did I mention, GO ON A MISSION!

I'm sure you're dying to know when and who you marry, but trust me, you wouldn't even believe me if I told you!  Just know that he's even better than you imagined. And that you'll finally get the sisters you've always wanted. 

Well this is probably enough to overwhelm your 18 year old mind for now. And to tell you the truth, this is about all I've got figured out. You know what to do, just make it happen!

Don't forget to love ourself.

Love, Megan

PS- this is our favorite show. Love it. Cherish it. Get all seasons of it.

CONSUMED BY COMPARISON

If there is one talent most every woman has, it's the ability to compare ourselves to EVERYTHING. We compare ourselves to how others spend their money, how they raise their kids, what their bodies look like, how they dress, how much money they make, how they choose to live their religion, and the list goes on, and on, and on (like the song from the weird show Lamb Chop... haven't seen it? YouTube it.)

Being a woman, and being around women often, I have been thinking about this topic for several months now. There are far too many women in my life (who I love dearly) that are CONSUMED by COMPARISON. Not only are we as women judging others while comparing, but we viciously judge ourselves 1,000,000,000,000 times more harshly than anyone has ever judged us. It's an awful cycle. And I think it's time we as women STOPPED.

I'm becoming more and more convinced that Instagram & Pinterest can be the worst things EVER for a woman's self esteem.

INSTABRAG: The immediate posting of self congratulatory photos on Instagram with the sole intention of inspiring jealousy among followers.

- Woman gets on Instagram
- Woman sees another woman's post on instagram
- Post on Instagram is bragging about a latest accomplishment (graduation, baby is walking, house is almost done being built, husband got new job, bought a new car, vacationing in some tropic island, etc. etc. etc)
- Woman viewing post feels a tinge of resentment, jealousy, failure at lack of having accomplishment
- Woman viewing post, judges woman posting picture for bragging all the time about her perfect life. Thoughts of how easy her life must be, how it's not fair they have a rich family, etc. enter woman's mind. Judging continues.
- Woman reflects again on her own faults, failures, and longing to have what others do. Woman feels her self-esteem physically deplete inside her chest.
- Woman scrolls to next Instagram pic...

Now I can't say that this happens EVERY time to EVERY woman who has ever viewed a form of social media. But it's happened to me. And it's probably happened to you.

And it happens to women in general WAY too often.

And the effects of comparison are cutting deeper, and deeper...

NEWSFLASH: NO ONE IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE SAME LIFE, ON THE SAME TIMELINE!

I'm turning 26 next week. I don't have kids. I don't have a house. I haven't built a house. My husband makes minimum wage. AND IT'S OKAY!

It's okay that I live in an apartment.(I LOVE OUR APARTMENT!)
It's okay that I don't have 2-3 kids like other women my age. (I've got plenty of beautiful babies in my ward to hold)
It's okay that I don't have a wardrobe from Nordstroms! (because seriously, this is pretty much against everything I believe in when it comes to shopping)

It's also okay that others my age own a house.
It's okay that they have husbands who make more than minimum wage.
It's okay that they in fact have 2-3 kids.

It's okay that they have their own life, and that it doesn't match mine.

Maybe instead of comparing and discovering what I don't have and ruining my own self esteem, I can be inspired and learn. I can see people with these different timelines, and know that someday I may be in that situation. I can learn how they achieved their accomplishment. I can learn what they did wrong, and what they did right-- to refer back to for my own future experience. Maybe I can stop comparing, and start celebrating others in their success because I understand it's not a reflection on my life.

Maybe I can post more inspiring things. Maybe instead of insta-bragging, I can share something that will make people laugh, or make people feel like they can reach their goals too. Maybe before I post something I can ask myself "If someone else posted this, would it make me feel bad for not having this?" I think a lot of how a post is received, is all in the wording. Obviously I can't control how everyone feels, but I think I can be more uplifting and sensitive.

Heck, maybe I just need to delete my social media for 1 or 2 weeks. Heck, maybe a month! Or forever! Maybe I need some time to learn to love my own life and build up my confidence again.

Something else we as women HAVE GOT TO GET OVER is our bodies. We can eat the same things, and do the same exercise routines, and our bodies will NEVER look the same as each others. So why we compare our bodies to each other, makes no sense to me.

From a woman with the curves of the squarest box you've ever seen, we need to EMBRACE our beautiful bodies! STOP NITPICKING! We'll nag ourselves to death about things we can't change, and things that are probably what actually make us beautiful. So let's stop.

Stop complaining that our teeth aren't white enough to reflect the sun and send SOS signals
Stop complaining we'll never have a thigh gap the size of grand canyon
Stop complaining that our hair stick-straight hair won't hold curls (you don't even need to own a straightener for heavens sake! Be happy!)
Stop complaining that our butt is too big or too flat- everyone likes bubbles and pancakes!

What if I start embracing my body? What if stopped only seeing everything I didn't like every time I looked in the mirror? What if I stopped counting calories and measuring my limbs and waist with a measuring tape? What if I started exercising and eating healthy according to how I FEEL, and not because I want to look like someone else?

Take it from a girl who spent a good 10 years worrying what everyone was thinking of her all the time due to her divorced parents and living in an average house, people love you more when you love yourself.

So I am going to listen to more Katy Perry because she always makes me feel like a rock star, read the Book of Mormon more so I'm reminded of who I am in the "big picture", and I'm not going to feel bad that I'll never have the curves or dance moves of Beyonce.

From Penny to Pearl...

Out with the old, in with the new...

Sometimes I really hate that I get so attached to people/things. It makes change such beast.

I've been driving my 2001 Chevrolet Prizm (who I named Penny) since I was 16. We've been through a lot together. And even though I've pretty much HATED her for the last year, I am having separation anxiety! I have spent way too much time and money trying to keep her alive. She had just given up the will to drive, but I wouldn't let her.

#GOODTIMES

I'll never forget the time one of my best friends growing up, Brandon, left a pair of jeans in the back seat of Penny my Senior year of High School. My mom went to drive my car and found this pair of boys jeans in my back seat. She brought them in the house, and held them up for me to hold, asking very accusingly why there was a pair of boys pants in the back of my car! I had no explanation, I honestly had NO idea how they got in the back seat of my car. I'm not sure my mom believed me and was very suspicious. I immediately started texting my guy friends to figure if they were missing a pair of jeans. None of them claimed to have left jeans in my car. Finally after bringing them to school, Brandon recognized them as his jeans. We still have a good laugh about how these jeans mysteriously ended up in the back of my car, and how my mom had a moment of panic.

Or the other time that I was 20 and had just gotten my mission call and one of my best friends was getting married and the other best friend was also getting ready to go on a mission. We were going to have one of our last hurrah's and drive to the Holi Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork. We had just got into town, and were jamming out at a stoplight. We were distracted looking at the car of boys next to us (I know, so stupid) when the lane next to us started moving. I put my foot on the gas before turning to look in front of me, and rear-ended a jeep in front me.OOPS.

A few weeks ago I finally realized it was time. Time to let her go. (cue dramatic soap opera music)

#FOREIGNBUYER

After spending a good 2 hours cleaning her, she "shined up like a new Penny" and I put her on KSL. With in 15 minutes we had someone texting us making an offer. We totally thought it was a scam, they hadn't even seen/driven the car and were offering us money. Plus their grammar and sentence structure was that of someone who was just learning English. Totally had to be someone from another country that was going to have us deposit some ridiculous check and steal our bank account information.  I told Dan not to even bother texting them back. But the person texted again, and so Dan texted them back.

Dan arranged to meet this person (who we were sure by now was a foreign USU student haha) at the Smith's parking lot to look at Penny. Dan was gone for about 20-25 minutes and came back. I asked how it went and if this foreign student was willing to buy. Haha, turns out he was a white kid in his early twenties, a local from Cache Valley who went to Weber State. I couldn't get over how hilarious this was to me!

#SOLD

Thankfully we found a nice family for Penny in only 5 days. They bought if for their daughter in High School who plays lacrosse. When they came to pick up the car, thankfully my two dear friends Sheri and Kylie were over and provided me emotional support as I watched my car drive away with a new girl. I had the scene from Toy Story 2 flash through my mind when Jessie's girls drops her off in a box on the side of the road and drives away... but thankfully I didn't abandon my car completely! We found her a nice, new girl who will take Penny on lots of adventures.

#PEARL

Buying a car was a HUGE deal for Dan and I. We had been saving and saving, researching cars, and all that good stuff pretty much since we got married 2 1/2 years ago. Neither of us had ever bought a car before, it was quite the experience. We finally found a white Toyota Camry for the right price and in the right condition. It was on the market for over a month... and I have no idea how no one bought it! It was a GREAT deal. I really think that Heavenly Father was involved by saving this car just for us!

Welcome to the family, Pearl!

The One with the Nose Job... or the Nose and the Job

#THENOSE

January was a wild month. Dan has had a deviated septum for quite some time now, and we finally decided to get it looked into (especially while he is still on his parents insurance!) We found an ear, nose, throat doctor here in Logan and scheduled an appointment. Dan left the appointment with a surgery scheduled for the next week- talk about fast!

The surgery was scheduled the day before school started. Dan assured me it was a very minor surgery and that he would probably be fine to go school the next day. I only took work off the day of the surgery, how foolish I was! The surgery wasn't schedule until 2:00 that day, and I thought about going into work for 1/2 the day, but decided it would be a good time to get some things done around the house and spend time with Dan before school started.

We were planning to have some friends give Dan a blessing around noon that day, but got a phone call at 11:15am asking if we could come NOW for the surgery. We were so happy the surgery was moved up so that we could get home sooner and Dan could rest for the first day of the semester.  However, this left us no time for Dan to get a blessing. (Lesson learned: get a blessing the day before!) We grabbed all of our stuff, and booked it over to Logan Regional Hospital.

I am weird and get nervous over things like this, always worrying about the "what ifs" and unknowns. I haven't had surgery since I was two and can't remember any of it. I felt unprepared for what I was supposed to be doing, or how they were doing the surgery- but luckily my mom and mother-in-law are both nurses, so I felt reassured that we could ask them questions if needed. We got checked in and Dan changed into his cute surgery gown :)  It took around an hour for all that, and to speak with the doctor and anesthesiologist. Then suddenly it was time. Dan was being wheeled off to surgery and I was left to wait. The surgery was supposed to take around 90 minutes. AKA- lots of time for Pinterest and pondering :)

 Side note: Dan and I are both allergic to amoxicillin- one of the many reasons I know we're perfect for eachother :)

Those 90 minutes went by quickly and suddenly the doctor was in the room, telling me the surgery went perfectly and they were waiting for him to wake up from the anesthesia. 

Next thing that happens is Dan is being wheeled back in our room, talking quite loudly and making one of the nurses laugh. As they get closer to me, the laughing nurse said "He wanted me to make sure I tell you that he loves you and that he wants a kiss..." Well at least I know Dan isn't one of those people who gets angry coming off anesthesia! haha!  It turns out the other nurse was the wife of one of the counselors in our Stake Presidency, who we had just gone to a Christmas party with a few weeks earlier! I was so relieved to know she was Dan's nurse. It eased SO much of my worrying and I felt totally comfortable and at peace. I wouldn't be afraid to ask her any questions, and new she would take the best care of Dan. Heavenly Father sure watches out for his children.

It took quite a bit longer than expected for Dan to become coherent enough for them to let us leave the hospital. His blood pressure was really high and the monitors were going off the whole time we were there. Our miracle nurse thought this was probably due to cocaine in his system from the anesthesia... who knew they put cocaine in anesthesia!?

Prior to the surgery I asked Dan if we needed to do anything-- buy him any juices, puddings, etc. Did he have the medicine he needed? Dan assured me his prescription was at the pharmacy already and he wouldn't need anything. FALSE. Thankfully we had our miracle nurse. She was able to tell me how to get the prescription filled and actually hand delivered to our room.

(This is why God said: It is not good for men to be alone!) 

So while Dan was coming out of his haziness, we got the medicine and figured out what to buy at the grocery store on the way home.

I think the worst part of the surgery, is that you can't blow your nose, you can't touch your nose, and you just have to spit up all the blood running down the back of your throat for like 3 days. YUCK! These blue medical bags were lifesavers!

Once we got home, I made Dan something to eat (the kid hadn't eaten since the day before!) and tried to get him settled. We made his "white stache" for all the blood to irrigate into. Again, very unpleasant. Poor guy! My favorite part of the whole experience was while I was making dinner, I asked him if he wanted to watch a movie or TV show. 

His response: "I want to watch Sleeping Beauty."

So Dan watched all of Sleeping Beauty while he ate his dinner! At first I thought it might have been the pain meds, now I think it was just Dan with no filters wanting to watch it. Another reason why he is my soul mate :)  It became pretty obvious that I was not going to be going to work tomorrow, Dan can't drive on these meds!

#THEJOB

Dan eventually pulled out his laptop and started checking the sports for the day and his email. He came to find out that he had received an email that day for a position he'd applied for back in October or November. They initially told him that due to the high number of applicants, they were only interviewing the first 20 or something and that he wouldn't be interviewed. However, in this email they said they needed 2 people to start right away and were doing interviews that day. Dan was so upset and disappointed he missed it.

We'd been praying for Dan to find a job for a good 8 weeks at this point. I had to admit I was disappointed too. This would have been a GREAT job. We decided it was worth a shot to email them back and see if there was any chance he could get an interview still.  Watching Dan try to write an email and form sentences was quite entertaining! I eventually took over the typing part and Dan decided that he would go into their office first thing tomorrow morning to speak with them.

That night, Dan didn't sleep one bit. We think it was a side effect of the pain meds, and the discomfort of trying to sleep while sitting up (can't lay down with all the blood still running out your nose!). I woke up the next morning to Dan sitting wide awake next to me on the bed watching a movie. We both got ready and I drove him up to campus with his "white stache", 24 hours of no sleep, and on pain meds... this was going to be interesting!

BUT- Miracles happen. The guy gave Dan an interview regardless of his state, and within an hour, Dan got an email saying he had the job as a facilitator for the distance ed classes! HURRAY! The only downside was they needed him to start that day... I did NOT think this was a good idea considering Dan just had surgery less than 24 hours ago! Dan insisted that he did. So, I reluctantly drove him back and forth from campus all day for classes, work training, and actual work.

The poor guy didn't get home until 8:00 that night due to work... he was at 36 hours without sleep. He was in bad shape. He came home and instantly threw up. I felt so bad. I couldn't believe how big of a whirlwind the last 36 hours had been, and I know Dan's body was past functioning.

#TIMING

This was such a good learning experience for both of us.  Taking care of Dan in this way was a new experience for us and it made me love him even more!  And then Dan doing anything it took to get a job to help provide for us was just the cherry on top of the huge pile of love I have for him. I'm so grateful for a husband that can pull through such hard situations such as these! And still look like a stud while sporting the "white stache" :)

We also had a great lesson in learning that prayers are answered-- not always at the most convenient time for us, but in the way we need. But this job has been so perfect for Dan this semester (the guy pretty much gets paid to do his homework!) and the Lord has blessed us so much!