Life in LA

When I think about all the different places we have lived in just 2 years time, it absolutely blows my mind. I sometimes feel like we are a military family instead of medical students. I have really enjoyed my time at home. We have been home almost 6 weeks and have about 6 more weeks left. There is a lot that has happened since we've been home. My cousin, Todd, who has NF2 had a body scan and found out that he has no tumors anywhere in his body, which is an absolute miracle. The only tumor that he has is the one that the doctor left in his head, and it hasn't grown any! Then on the same day that Todd had his body scan, CJ was injuried in Afghanistan, which was devistating! CJ is now doing better, but we got news yesterday that my Aunt and Uncle's dog, Gabby, has cancer. This dog has been their baby for 10 years, and I can only imagine what they are going through. It seems that both good and bad news have been lurking around the corner of our family over the last week or so. Our faith in God and the bond of our family is stronger than ever. I keep telling myself that God won't give us anything that we can't handle, but I have to admit that it has been a lot to deal with. I am just grateful that I have been able to be home for all of this, and am so glad that I wasn't a plane ride away! I will try to post some recent pictures of our time at home later.

The places we have lived as a married couple (pictures are compliments of google):


We moved to Newcastle, England after only being married 2 months!


Then we were off to the Caribbean island of Grenada!


Our home for the next 2 years will be Brooklyn, New York!

I can't wait to see where God will send us next..I am putting in my request to be in the South part of the States!

A True American Hero

My cousin, CJ Stewart, was injured in Afghanistan on Tuesday, June 15th. Their base camp was attacked and CJ, being a medic, went to grab his medic bag when a rocket powered grenade blew up in front of him. He suffered significant injury to his right arm and right leg. His right hand had to be reattached, and he has had many surgeries and procedures done to save his right arm. The army finally flew him to Maryland to Walter Reed Hospital, where he will be for a while. His parents were able to see him for the first time on Father's Day when he landed in the States. Words can not describe the feelings and emotions that have been stirring through my body and the rest of my family. We are all truly grateful that he is alive! We have been reminded every day since that incident that we serve an awesome God who has continued to work miracles around us. CJ could have very well been killed in that explosion, as were some of the other soldiers. God chose to spare him for whatever the reason, and we will always be in deep gratitude for that. I think we as Americans take all of our freedoms for granted, and we should be ashamed. There are these young men going over into foreign lands to fight for our freedom that we don't even realize we have. I will tell you that my dear, sweet CJ has not taken the smile off of his face since this happened. His spirits have been high, and not one complaint has come out of his mouth. I know that we all live busy lives, but when an American soldier is wounded and just happens to be your family, I think that it makes you see things in a whole new perspective. We are all blessed to have someone as special and as brave as CJ fighting for our freedom, and we as Americans need to take a step back and remember what we are fighting for. We love you CJ! Stay strong and keep that big, beautiful smile on your face!


CJ Stewart..A hero at just 21 years old.


This kid was destined to do great things.


After the accident..with a smile on his face!

Mom's Birthday Celebration!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mom and me, and yesterday was Mom's birthday! I was so glad that I was able to be home to celebrate this day with her. I am so lucky to have such a kind, loving, beautiful, and caring Mom who is always there for me and takes care of all of us! We tried to make her birthday as special as possible by sending her flowers at work, getting her nice gifts, having birthday cake, and then I cleaned the whole house today so she can have a nice, relaxing weekend! We love you Mom and hope that you enjoyed your birthday!

Our Second Anniversary

Monday, May 31st, Cody and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary. I was bummed that it was on Memorial Day, since I specifically planned our wedding to where I never thought that it would fall on that day since it was the last day in May, but it happened anyway! Cody studied most of the day, and then we went to several furniture stores looking for a couch for our New York apartment. Then we went to eat at Saltgrass for dinner. We also stayed at the Horseshoe Hotel for the night and watched The Lovely Bones on payperview. It was nice for just the two of us to spend quality time together. Don't get me wrong, we love our families dearly, but we are living with them 24/7..which is a huge difference when we are used to it being just us. We have had a very exciting and unusual first two years of marriage, and I'm sure much more is sure to come in the future years!

May 31, 2008:

4-Wheelin

I must say that I am very glad to be home. It has been very nice being able to hang out with all of my family and friends. The other day, my brother Blake and I decided to go 4-Wheeler riding. My parents' live on Lake Bistineau, and right now they have drained it in order to do some work on the dam. So most of the lake is completely dried up with lots of muddy places, which is perfect for riding 4-Wheelers..especially when it's right in your yard! We had a great time! We even took Macy for a short ride around on the 4-Wheeler..She's such an adventurous dog! I enjoyed hanging out with my little brother and am so glad to be home!


The lake in front of my parents' house


It was about to rain, so the pic is a little dark and cloudy


Me, Blake, and Mace riding on the 4-Wheeler

We Finally Made It!!!

We finally made it back home after a 24 hour journey! It started in Grenada, when our friend Kensi told us that they weren't letting dogs on the plane since it was an American Eagle plane (smaller plane), and that the next flight that would allow dogs would be on the 23rd (9 days later!!!). So of course we were freaking out! Cody tells the people at the airport that Macy is a service dog, but we didn't have her paperwork. Imagine Macy as a service dog..that's pretty funny, but it worked! I was a little upset that Cody lied in order to get us on the plane. I told him to ask God for forgiveness or I wasn't setting foot on the plane (I am already a nervous flyer, so I wasn't going to get on a plane without having things right with God)! So after that flight, we landed in Puerto Rico, and there was a golf cart and wheelchair for me since I was on crutches. Then we got on the plane and headed to Dallas. We were about 1 1/2 hours out of Dallas, when the pilot came on the intercom and said that we were turning around and heading to Miami because the DFW airport was closed due to weather. We were just sick! We were so close to being home. So then once we got to Miami, we had to wait a few hours and finally caught another plane going to Dallas. We didn't get to Dallas until late, and there were no Shreveport flights flying out that night. So we tried to get a rent car, but they wouldn't do one-ways, so we ended up taking a 3 1/2 hour taxi ride to Shreveport. By the time we made it home it had been 24 hours since we had woken up that morning. We were exhausted! I am glad to be back and not have to make that journey any more! Here are some pictures that we have taken since returning back to the US:


After church


Macy with her new summer haircut in her polka dotted bikini that my Mom bought her :)

Our Last Day in Grenada!

My last pool day with the girls! (From left to right: Lauren and baby Maddox, Ashley, Me, Vanessa, Stephanie and little Emma, Alexis holding baby Weston, and little Zane)

Today is our last day in Grenada! I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday we were starting the beginning of our 2 year journey in the UK, and now we are done with Cody's book part of medical school! Now just 2 more years of hospital rotations in New York, and my husband will have M.D. behind his name! I must say that I do look forward to being calling Dr. and Mrs. Tingle..it has a nice ring to it! Cody has definitely worked hard and deserves it..I on the other hand have made plenty of sacrifices and done my part to be a good wife, and I feel like I too deserve all of the benefits that come along with being a doctor's wife! Today was my last time to go and hang out at the pool with the girls. It was so odd to lounge in the chairs and know that this was my last time to be there. There are so many things that I will miss about Grenada, but the thing that I will miss the most are the incredible girls that I have become so close to. Without them, this past year would have been so boring and lonely. We will all be hanging out at the beach tonight with a bonfire..Then we are going to one of our favorite restaurants on the island, the Aquarium! I can't believe it's all coming to an end, but I will enjoy these last moments with our dear friends. Hopefully, we will see them again in New York when the time comes. Love you all!