SIX days.

Hey yall!


SO. One thing is on my mind today: Getting through 3 more finals so I can go HOME. I'm beyond ready for my Christmas break. It really upsets me that every other student in the US seems to be done with school. It also upsets me that the rest of my family will be home (including my grandparents from VA) for an entire week before me. I told them the party won't officially start until I get there ha! I've had 3 finals so far and just finished one of the harder ones a few hours ago. It's such a relief to be done with Anatomy for this semester. That class is so detailed. Neuroanatomy is even worse, but I can't even think about that right now. One test at a time. It's been so long since I've blogged so I have a few pics to share as usual :) Please be in prayer for me as I finish out this semester. I can't believe my first semester of optometry school is almost over!

 I know you're jealous you aren't studying this.

My many faces while studying.

Thanksgiving break!

Love spending time with this girl who is growing up WAY too fast :(

Cherishing every moment.

Mexican!

Glad for a few days on Scratch Gravel Rd with them!

The youngins reunited :)

Getting in the Christmas spirit with:

SNOW!!!!

My little purple tree :)

Look who came to visit :)

See you in 6 days Mississippi!

And the Countdown Begins

Well, a lot has happened in 3 weeks. I kept wanting to write, but I've just not gotten the chance until now. Even now, I probably should be studying for my Anatomy test Friday, but I HAD to give my brain a mental break. My brain has been on overload for so long, I can't even remember what sitting still in the quiet even feels like. I'm reminding myself right now though :) I opened up the windows and all I can hear is the wind blowing. It does a person so much good to be still. God has reminded of that in His word in Psalms 46:10 this week. He has been reminding me of a lot this past week. It is so easy for me to get caught up in school because it is so time consuming and has a tendency to take over. Last week and this week have been the 2 hardest weeks of the semester so far in my opinion. I'll admit I got overwhelmed last week and had a meltdown which consisted of balling my eyes out, pajamas, oreos, my bed, and Grey's Anatomy haha. After that, I was much better. I'm proud that I've only had 2 meltdowns so far this semester! I try so hard not to freak out, but sometimes I just get so overwhelmed when I have 4 tests and a lab final practical within a few days. Even though it's stressful sometimes, I can look back and say God has ALWAYS been faithful and brought me through! I owe everything to Him: Every good test grade, every passed practical, my strength, my confidence, my hope, my blessings, my life, and so much more. I'm so thankful for my family, Colt, and my church family back home always lifting me up in prayer. I honestly don't know what I would do without my prayer warriors. 


I feel like this has been a bunch of rambling, but I've loved sitting down and relaxing to write it. As always, I have a few pictures of some highlights of my past few weeks.

This would be the cow eye I dissected in lab. Take a wild guess as to who was the ONLY person to get eye juice all over her. 

Ok these are the BEST cupcakes I have ever had. My sweet roomie brought me this :)

We have the same fashion sesnse ;)
(Well she's actually way cuter than me all the time  haha)

So glad this came on Pandora one morning.

Late night treat at the library.

I'm sure my family & friends loved getting this pic from me.

Late night road trip to see my honey :)

He's so handsome! My wedding date :)

He's too cool.

My biggest excitement right now: FOUR MORE DAYS TIL THANKSGIVING BREAK :D

Until next time,

Jenn :)

[ Insert Catchy Title Here ]

I couldn't think of a title for this blog because it's not going to be focused on any certain topic. My brain is so full of Anatomy I can't even think straight. So how crazy is this weather right now?? I was looking at the weather channel on my phone and noticed it's supposed to be 80 one day and 55 the next. That's the South for ya. My roommate doesn't know what to do haha. Nothing majorly eventful has happened recently except for my mom and little sister coming to visit me (I'll talk about that later.) The past week has been consumed with Anatomy...I had an Anatomy lab practical on Wednesday, an Anatomy cadaver lab Saturday morning, and I'm currently studying for an Anatomy test. I never knew what a complicated mess of arteries ran in our necks and heads!! I just hope I can remember that mess on Tuesday morning! So I have to talk about the cadaver lab. First of all, it was at 7:45 on a Saturday morning!!!!! That's earlier than we have to be at school through the week! I was not a happy camper. I had seen the cadavers at MC, but the ones we saw Saturday were nothing like that. The business we got these cadavers from was different in that they freeze the bodies a few hours after they die so that when they thaw them out, they are VERY realistic. I've never seen anything like it. There was one full body cadaver and a few heads (the weirdest part to me was how the horizontal cut was right under the nose). There was one brain with the spinal cord still attached which was pretty neat. The spinal cord looked like a horse's tail to me. It was interesting. I kinda zoned out at one point when some of my classmates were cutting on the cadaver and thought about his story and what kind of life he had lived. Then, I got a little sad thinking about what if his family saw us cutting on him. I realize he donated his body to science, but still.....kinda strange.

Typical night.

On a lighter note, the Leonard girls were reunited for a little bit last weekend! It was so good to spend time with them. I wish they could have stayed longer. They got here around 5 on Friday and I cooked supper for them ( really I did) and then we had a fondue party :)

It was ah-maaaazing.

We went thrift store shopping on Saturday and may have gotten lost a few times thanks to my wonderful sense of direction, especially in a big city. My mom also brought my dad's drill and tool set and I successfully hung curtains by myself. Well, they may have helped a tad ;) I was so proud. Who says we need men again?? They got to come to church with me on Sunday morning. It's still weird for me to have to drive 30 min to go to church when I've been used to walking right across the sidewalk. It stinks. I had warned them that it was gonna be a tad different than Jones Chapel haha. I love it though! It's very contemporary and the music director wears skinny jeans! My mom couldn't get over that part. After church I cooked AGAIN. It's so hard to believe, I know. I decided to try out a recipe I found on pinterest, which by the way, if you haven't got on there, DON'T. It's like crack. So addicting. Anyways I'm not sure what they're called but the recipe consisted of chicken, cheese, butter, cream of chicken soup, cream cheese, and crescent rolls. What's not to like about that?? I meant to take a picture before we devoured them, but forgot. 

They turned out so good. It will probably be my go-to recipe now.

A few other things I've enjoyed:

Getting my nerrrrrrdy glasses :)

FINALLY setting up my new hammock. Happiness!

Having this view from my hammock. It will never get old.

Chocolate chip muffins :)

Being reminded I get to go home in less than a month!!!

Until next time,

Jenn :)

The Little Things

I have survived two rough weeks since the last time I blogged. All I can say is thank the Lord for getting me through (with good grades too)!! I had a few breakdowns during the middle of the week when I had two tests in the most detailed classes I have and a timed lab practical, but I made it! After the past few weeks, I decided I deserved a break. I didn't do anything major....just enjoyed the little things in life. Here are a few:

 I got to enjoy one of my favorite fall candies, thanks to my mom and Na.

 ( It made my day to get these in the mail along with a sweet note!)

I don't eat out much any more, so I loved this. AND it was a heart :)

It was TCBY's 30th anniversary so I got these for 30 cents each. Score.

Skype dates with Na :)

A relaxing Saturday started out right. Coffee & the Word.

Putting on a dress & makeup for the first time in a few days.

A sweet roommate letting me borrow these.

Movie night with my roommate.

This picture just makes me happy.

New purple sweater :)

Roadtrip music to see my love

Our life. 

First bike ride in years. He didn't think I could. Proved him wrong.

Hope yall are enjoying the little things in life too!

-Jenn :)

Fast Forward

My goal was to blog every week or every other week, but that's definitely not gonna happen. A lot has happened in the past 4 or 5 weeks since I first posted. I've made it through 4 weeks of optometry school!!! That in itself is a huge accomplishment! I have to tell myself to take it one week and sometimes even one day at a time. These past 4 weeks have consisted of 3 tests, lots of quizzes, constant studying, and many hours practicing retinoscopy. I did really good on my first 2 tests and that boosted my confidence, perhaps, a bit too much. My third test didn't exactly have the same outcome. Next week will be the toughest week so far with an Anatomy test, a Neuro test, and a Opt Theory lab practical. Uggghhhh. I'm predicting not too many hours of sleep for me the next week. 

Anyways.....Enough about the hard school stuff and on to some of my favorite things that have happened. My roommate's birthday was on the 3rd so we celebrated by going thrift shopping (one of her favorite things and mine too!), getting a Gigi's cupcake, and going out to dinner downtown that night. It was so nice to have a relaxing day! Colt came to visit me on Labor Day weekend and it was SO nice having him here for a few days. Even though we both had to study (story of our lives), we still had a chance to watch a movie, get an awesome hamburger at Huey's, and watch the sun set over the Mississippi River. Seeing the sun set over the river outside my window is one of my favorite things about living on Mud Island. It's so beautiful here. 

Here the only picture we took that weekend. It was such a pretty day.

My next favorite thing was making a short trip back home to see my grandparents. I love them more than anything. It's so weird being on my own now and going home for a "visit". It takes me a while to get used to change (Some may say I'm like my dad in that area haha). Going home this time was extra weird because mine and Ryan's rooms had been turned into Janae's new room and a guest room. Janae got way better furniture than me and Ryan every had. Advantages of being the baby and having older siblings! It was so wonderful to have my mom's home cooking! I'm pretty sure I gained 10 pounds while being there though! I left with my mamaw's green beans (the best you will ever taste!) and chicken casserole. Getting to go to my church with my whole family was also nice. Little things that I used to take for granted are very special to me now. Growing up does weird things to a person haha! 

My most favorite thing was definitely Convocation where I got my white coat. It was sooo exciting wearing it for the first time as I walked across the stage to shake the president of the college's hand!! In his speech, he made the point of how we should feel honored to be there because there were more than 800 applicants and we were the chosen 130. It still shocks me to hear those numbers. My dad jokingly asked me why they picked me afterwards and I always say, "You know why." God worked a miracle in my life and was faithful to answer my prayer and the prayers of so many people. His goodness in that situation still overwhelms me. My mom tells people they prayed me in and now they're gonna pray me through haha! On those late nights when I'm up studying and so overwhelmed with the amount of material I have to learn, I always try my best to remember that this is exactly where God wants me and He didn't bring me hear to drop me. He's gonna get me through. That promise is what I cling to and it gives me so much hope, peace, and confidence in Him. 

My parents, grandparents, and Colt got to come for a few days to visit me for the ceremony. It was probably the first time my grandparents had been to a big city. It was so funny to watch them walk downtown in an alley to get to Rendezvous! They were definitely out of their element. The things they do for their granddaughter!

This man was awesome! My mamaw didn't know what to think when he called her baby haha!

A few pics from my ceremony

Yay!!

Can't you tell I inherited my tall gene from her? ;)

He drove over 5 hours in 1 day to see me walk across that stage. I love him so much!!

I've had a busy 4 weeks that's for sure. I'm incredibly blessed with a faithful God that never ceases to amaze me, the best family I could ask for, the best optometry school in the country, and a boyfriend I love more now than ever :) Hope you have had a great month just like me. 

Until next time,

Jenn :)