Well, I assume if you've found this blog, you probably know us. But, just because it feels weird to just 'dive right in' without a little bit of background, here's a quick summary of us:
Jon grew up in Utah, lived in Northern Germany for a year, served an LDS mission to the Hawaiian islands, and attended school at the University of Utah and then transferred to BYU-Hawaii in Fall 1999. Which is when he came across little old me. :) I (formerly Sarah Stout) grew up in Oregon, and started school at BYU-Hawaii at the ripe old age of 17. I joined the BYUH Concert Choir, and in Fall 1999 set my eyes on the finest looking man I'd ever seen. After a tour with the choir to Taiwan and Singapore, long distance correspondence, an engagment to someone else (!), and then a year-long engagement to eachother, we were finally married for time and all eternity in the Portland Oregon LDS Temple in Aug 2001. Four months later we graduated together, with 'matching' degrees in Biology with minors in Biochemistry. We stayed in Hawaii for a few more months, and, sadly, had to return to the mainland to pursue higher education.
That summer, we took some time off to drive cross-country to upstate NY to serve as missionaries in the Hill Cumorah Pageant. Good times!! But, our fun back east was short-lived, and, in time, we had to decide "where to go from here". With Jon's family in Utah and mine in Oregon, it was difficult deciding where to go. We decided to visit both locations and let "the money" tell us where to go (in other words, where could we get jobs?). After fruitless efforts in Oregon, we both landed good jobs in SLC, UT - Jon at a forensic lab, performing complicated drug testing for the FBI, and me conducting oncology (cancer) research at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. Shortly after moving to Murray, UT, we landed a job as Resident Managers at the SLC Ronald McDonald House - a nonprofit organization servicing families of patients receiving medical treatment.
We enjoyed our jobs but both decided to pursue higher education - namely graduate school. I applied to PA (Physician Assistant) schools around the country, was accepted to a few and chose to attend the University of Utah PA Program, partially because of it's ranking (5th in the nation), and partially because I was sick of moving (after 6 moves in our first year of marriage!!) I began school in Aug 2003 and, after 6240 hours of lecture, study and clinical practicum, obtained my MPAS (Master of Physician Assistant Studies) in Aug 2005. After two unsuccessful applications to medical school, Jon found a new job doing genetic and endocrinology research at the University of Utah. Longing to return to school, and wanting to garnish more skills, he applied and was accepted to the professional-MBA (Master of Business Administration) program at the University of Utah. He began the program Aug 2004 and, if all goes well, will finish ahead of schedule, in June 2006. (He's such an overacheiver :) ). He recently began his third round of medical school applications, this time meeting with MUCH more success! He has already had ten invitations to interview, along with one ACCEPTANCE! We are still waiting to hear back from other schools with which he has interviewed before making a final decision as to where to go, but we're very glad to say, the application process is finally over! Jon will be attending medical school starting Fall 2006, and will graduate 2010. Only time will tell what field of medicine he'll go into, or where he will complete his residency - we're happy taking things one step at a time!
More notable than anything else we've done in our lives is that we have recently become parents to an incredible little girl! In January 2005, our sweet Makea Rose Keho'omalamalama was born. (Translation - Makea: gift of God, Keho'omalamalama: one who brings light, warmth and compassion). She is our greatest gift, and fills a place in our hearts we never knew was empty. Parenting is even better than we ever imagined - we just never knew we could be so in love (with each other, and with such a sweet little girl!) She is very curious, daring, brave, independent, happy, opinionated, charming, sweet, sensitive, kind, innocent, pure, and pleasant.....all rolled into a cute little 8 month old bundle of joy. (Pictures to come soon) Sure, she keeps us busy, but we wouldn't have it any other way!
So, what are we up to currently? Here's a quick rundown:
Us - living at the Ronald McDonald house in SLC, UT
Makea - surprising us everyday with her constant growth and development: as of today (though it will be obsolete in a few hours), she can snuggle, smile, laugh, giggle, cry, complain, whine, shout, growl, roar, scream, say Mama, Papa, Mom, Dad, Duck (dut), All-Done (ah-duh), That (dat), Bye (bah) and Wow (wah)! She can get down on all fours, scoot around on her tummy, maneuver around on her bum, pull herself up to standing, climb, walk while holding onto things, and stand alone for a few seconds. Every day she amazes us with her whit, charm, and all-around sweet snuggability. She is perfect, and everyday we have to pinch ourselves that we are so blessed to have her in our lives!
Me - a full time mom, staying at home with Makea (a luxury I did not have for the first 6 months of her life, while she stayed home with Jon 40-100 hours per week as I finished clinical rotations.) When I am not snuggling, nursing, changing, feeding, bathing, reading to, walking, playing with or tickling Makea, I am working at managing the Ronald McDonald House (still resident managers), playing editor, travel agent, chauffer, maid, accountant, cook and secretary for Jon in his medical school applications, work and school (he does help out WAY more than he needs to!), serving as counselor in the Relief Society, and trying (rather unsuccessfully) to squeeze in a few moments to study for my boards (which must be taken by the end of the year).
Jon - a full time student in the U of U pMBA program, currently enrolled in 18 credits. Also working full time, both as an accounant at Wasatch Homeless Clinic and as a researcher at a lab at Eccles Human Genetics at the U of U. Has recently been 'skipping' class and work to fly and drive all over the country to places like Maine, Arizona, Oregon, West Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, Florida, Pennsylvania and Missouri, to interview with various medical schools. Yes, he's exhausted, and so is our bank account, after all that! :) Leaving at 7am and returning home around 11pm doesn't leave him much time to be at home with Makea and I, but when he is, he is constantly doing dishes, cleaning the bathroom, doing maintenance on the Ronald McDonald house, playing with Makea, snuggling us both and telling us how much he loves us! We're so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and father!
So, that's us in a nutshell. Hope I didn't bore you with my rambling on and on. (But hey, you can always scroll down if you're bored!)
Happy Blogging!
Sarah
