What have I done???

For those of you that haven't yet heard, our next step in this journey called medical school will take us to Saginaw, Michigan. For 5th semester, Ross University gives you three options. Apply for Michigan's program, choose to go to Miami, or stay put here in Dominica. Every since we've been here, we thought Dominica was the easiest choice. No moving, no packing, Norm Jr. is happy in school here, the list goes on and on and if I keep thinking about it, I may change my mind again. Last minute though, Norm through a curveball at me and said, "I think I'm going to apply for Michigan." For some reason, there's this big hype surrounded by the Michigan program. Is it better? Is it more organized? Do you have a better chance at getting rotations in one spot? We shall see. We went to a ton of meetings this semester and weighed our options for all three areas. Each really having their own perks. The "scariest" part about Michigan is though only accept 60 students. With Norms class being one of the largest of about 400ish, we kept thinking, "What are our chances??" We are from Orlando, which is only about a 3hr drive to Miami, we thought they will automatically default us to that location. But we earnestly prayed and pondered this decision and felt like applying to Michigan was what was best for our family. I could go on and on about the many ulcers I probably had during this semester while they make you wait, and wait, and wait, to hear where you are going. They give you a date, you mentally tell yourself, okay, we will know in 4 days and all the stress will be over, only to find out they pushed back the deadline! Ahh, this last month has been a roller coaster ride of emotions to say the least! But we found out the good news, only 5 weeks before the end of the semester, 3 weeks before Norm Jr and I would leave the island, and immediately got down on our knees and thanked Heavenly Father for this blessing. We think Michigan will be a nice change of scenery for us. We've lived in Florida all our lives and I'm really looking forward to a change in weather for the summer months. I could go on and on about how proud of my husband I am, and that I know that due to all his hard work and nights away from the family, his diligence in his studies has paid off, but I won't bore you. 

With all that being said, we've been pretty busy lately. If I thought moving to another country was stressful, trying to leave this country has brought on a whole other level of stress. Due to our living situation here and sharing a house with roommates, thankfully we were able to save some money. Nothing that would make you gasp in disbelief, but enough to help us pay for all these expenses that we've been without for 16months. I sometimes forget how "simple" of a life I live here. Not easy, but simple. We don't have a car so scratch out paying, insurance, gas, or for an actual car. Health insurance is pretty cheap so we just pay out of pocket. Although groceries sometimes tend to be on the more expensive side, you dont' have 72aisles to walk down each day so your options are limited. We don't have fancy cell phones and we only pay when our minutes run out. All of these things and so much more, make this life very simple. And to be honest, I will miss the simplicity more than anything. By biggest concern today is what to make for dinner. I can't say that's how it will be when we return to the states. Before I get to sappy and start to tell you all the things I will miss about Dominica (I'll save that for a goodbye post) I will move on to what I originally was going to talk about.

We are proud new owners of a............

Minivan?? That's right folks. We knew going to either Miami or Michigan would mean we would need to buy a second vehicle. And with all the joy that comes with finding a vehicle on a student loan budget, this was our best option. We thought very hard, and stayed up many late nights researching all types of vehicles in our "price range". We finally came to the agreement, that whatever car we purchased would need to last us until Norman was done with residency. We won't ever have the funds available to do this for a long time. So with that decision made, we realized we needed a car that would last us at least 6-7more years?!? Is that even feasible?Norm Jr will be almost 11! WHAT?! By then I would like to think I would have few more children, which came the problem of only getting a car. A 3rd row seat was a must. Thankfully enough, Norms dad has connections with car auctions. We couldn't imagine paying a car payment right now, especially knowing that we will have some major gaps as to when our student loan money kicked in so paying cash was our only option. Scary I know. Thanks to me actually working last year and our brilliant friend who does our taxes we were able to purchase a 2005 Honda Odyssey. No bells or whistles which is fine with me. It has low miles, runs good and best of all no payments, and that's all we will  need. It wasn't until a friend of mine here heard I had got a car and asked what it was that I was a little embarrassed to admit that at 24 I am entering the the stage of a "minivan" mom. Not that I think the car is ugly or that I wouldn't want it maybe a few years down the road, but really what are most 24 year olds driving? I have a swagger wagon now. It just makes me chuckle. This is my life and I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way.