Congratulations are in order!

The following post is a little sappy and became much longer then I intended... I apologize but I can't help but brag a little. :) So for those that don't want to suffer through my ramblings, just look at one of my favorite pictures of my family below and move on to something else :)  Look at my little butterball!  There is no guessing who his daddy is!

When Nik told me that he wanted to go to medical school, I was a little hesitant.  It wasn't that I thought Nik couldn't do it, because I knew that Nik could do anything he put his mind to.  It just seemed like a lot work.  There was so much that needed to be done to get there.  Nik had to take several prerequesit classes, he would have to take the MCAT, we were getting ready to start our family, we would have to try to sell the house, we would have to move, I would have to get a new job, we would have to find a new place to live, not to mention the trials of medical school itself and the financial burden.  As we talked about it, hearing his reasons for wanting to do it, seeing his determination and inspiration, I knew that it was the right thing for our family.

My husband has tackled each step in our medical school journey head on.  He jumped right back into school at the University of Northern Colorado, he went to tutoring sessions, joined clubs, studied hard, and even went to professor's office hours, while working more then full time (nights) as a respiratory therapist.  We would go days without seeing each other and if we did it was for about 10 minutes.  He got all As, in all of those classes he took at UNC, getting the top grade in biochemistery and organic chemistry (both classes are notoriously difficult, the weed out classes for pre-med students).  All of the while, he continued to support me unquestionably in my own studies as I finished graduate school and began my own career. 

The next hurdle was the dreaded MCAT, the test that you have to take to get into medical school.  As a non-traditional student with a less then desirable GPA from his undergrad studies at BSU, he knew that he had to blow the test out of the water.  He developed a VERY strict study plan and adhered to it.  As a result, he did, in fact, blow the test out of the water. 
 
With the same dedication he tirelessly researched medical schools that would be the best fit for his scores and our family.  He was eventually admitted to 7 schools before pulling his application and we began the process of making a decision.

I won't lie and say that our move to Richmond was easy, the stresses of relocating, finding a new job, adjusting to a new schedule, and raising our son were hard at times to cope with.  However, because of Nikolas' steadfast support, patience, and ability to stay focused on what he needed to do, moving to Richmond has been a great thing for our family.  We have grown even closer during our time here in Richmond and have discovered that the "east coasters" aren't really that bad.  :)We have a new Richmond family that we love and I couldn't imagine life without them. 

Watching Nik go to medical school has been wonderful.  He has managed to not only go to all of his lectures and be involved in all things medical school, but he is an amazing daddy and husband as well.  His passion for learning, understanding, and applying knowledge has grown exponentially.  He has gotten extremely good grades on all of his tests and, not surprisingly, performed amazingly on his Step I boards. 

As a result of his dedication and hard work, Nik has received Junior AOA.  Junior AOA is the honor society for medical school and is given to the top 8% of each medical student class after their second year.  Having AOA on your resume is a very nice perk, it opens doors to a lot of competitive residency programs. To put it simply, he is among the top 8% of all medical students his year in the entire country. 

I am so proud of Nik! There are not many people who are able to dedicate themselves so completely to both a medical education and to his/her family.  Not only has he succeded but excelled.

As we start looking forward to the next phase in our family (the addition of our second child) and the next phase of his medical education (residency), I know that he will contine to be the best of the best and be a fabulous role model for our children.  I couldn't be more privilaged and honored to support him in this endeavor and call him the love of my life.

CONGRATULATIONS NIKOLAS!!