"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

This is a special time in Nic and I's life as a married couple.  I know other young couples go through similar events and changes, and that we're nothing new to this, but I'm sitting here just thinking... wow, this week is is a pretty big one.

He gets all blushy when I talk about him in front of his face, but at least if I do it here, you can't see him!  :P  I can't say enough great things about my husband.  He's asleep right now so he'll be ready to go for his final in the morning.  Did you catch the big word?  FINAL.  IT'S HIS LAST WEEK OF NURSING SCHOOL!  This time last year, we had just moved to Texas and every day we were working like crazy to get the house and my classroom put together before the kids started school and Nic started his program.  Here we are, a year later, and he's in his last week and I'm preparing for my second year of teaching.  He's really put in A LOT of hard work with this program (understatement of the year!).  He's practically lived in his books and on his computer, and somehow has pulled it off with awesome grades and still a smile on his face.  Now let's just keep our fingers crossed that he lands a good job (preferably in an ICU to prep him for a Nurse Anesthetist program)! I'm SO PROUD of Nic and all that he's accomplished in one year.  Seriously, think about it... he earned a whole degree in ONE YEAR!  How INSANE is that?  (Did I ever mention he's also really really cute and funny, and incredibly sweet?)  ♥

This was taken the day he found out he got accepted into the program:

Going in for his first clinical shift (yup, he's EXCITED!):

Annnnd one more to show that he actually has hair now.  ;-)

The anticipation for everything has gotten us quite excited.  I can afford to be awake right now because, even though tomorrow is a work day, I've still got just A FEW days of summer left!  I can't believe how fast it went by, and also can't believe all of the things I still have to do before the kids come.  So within the next week, Nic will *officially* be finished with school, and I will *officially* be starting again.  Isn't that the way things usually work?  So we're sort of just sitting back and relishing this time we've got- me still with a bit of summer and him with assignments slowly tapering off as they get finished.  I think about this time NEXT YEAR and how we'll likely be in our new home in Hampton and how we get to work like crazy to put the house together again, and how I get to work at making new friends all over again as well.

Speaking of friends, I can't tell you how many times I've thanked God for all of the AMAZING people we've met (and already knew) here in Texas.  It was a treat, first of all, to be near Nic's family and get to spend more time with them.  But it's just icing on the cake that I work with some really stellar people.  I mean REALLY stellar people.  These are honestly some of the funniest, sweetest, most outgoing, and sincere people that I've ever met.  I've enjoyed eating lunch with them, planning with them, working for them, and seeing their faces every day.  Teaching can be hard (another understatement of the year), especially in a school like ours.  And while I don't think I ever really voiced it to them, they made my first year teaching a lot smoother than it could have been.  They were there for me to talk to, to lean on, and to make me LAUGH on my best and worst of days.  Part of me wonders how I ever got so LUCKY.  And also part of me wonders if I'll EVER be this lucky again in Virginia.  I really am looking forward to school starting again so I can see everyone EVERY DAY, not just on sporadic little dinner/lunch/pool dates. 

I love days like this, when I know the next few days will be full of lots of FUN.  Tomorrow's plan involves a POOL with some fun NURSING STUDENTS (celebrating 1 Final down), working out and then MORE FRIENDS in the evening...  Saturday will again include friends in the evening, and Sunday will include brunch with Nic's parents, POOL again, then celebrating a friend's birthday in the evening.  Monday and Tuesday?  Well, they're the last two days of summer and I'm sure I'll be filling them with something fun!  I know there's no real WORK in my very near future, and even on Wednesday when it all starts back up again... there's STILL fun in the plan (I'm hearing something about a team-building ropes course? Yippee!!!).  I love knowing I've got plans to see people I really love spending time with in the very near future.  Ahhhh Summer.  Ahhhh end of Nursing school (it's great to get my husband back!). 

Life.is.good.  ♥