Back to School and Baby Bump

The night before Brandon started school was supposed to be a “memorable” back-to-school night for Brandon. I had these plans to go out to dinner, go buy him a new suit (they take their Class Picture at his White Coat Ceremony), and use this coupon for Famous Footwear to buy him some fancy new “kicks”. BUT, of course my plans were foiled because Brandon was on call. Normally, that isn’t too much of a problem because as history proves, he usually gets a case in the middle of the night..so I thought we’d at LEAST be good to go for the evening festivities. BUT, of course before I could even get home from work he was on his way to a case! So, I took the extra alone-time to setup a little “Back-to-School” table in our kitchen (a.k.a. school supplies, backpack treats, Vitamin Water, and anything else under $1 at Walmart). He finished at about 10pm, so we hurried over to Chili’s before it closed. We enjoyed ourselves a late-night “Back-to-School” dinner, which neither of us complained about. Then right when we walked in the door, he got another phone call. He left for a case in Ogden at 11:30pm and didn’t get home until 5:30am! And we left for school at 7am! Poor guy! I know this is just a sob story for you, but it needs to be documented so we can look back at this and laugh. (I know, you Med School spouses will say, “He was only gone from 11:30pm to 5:30am? That’s short!”) So, needless to say I was SUPER excited to wake him up for his very first day of school, but he was very tired! I think he was still hyped up on some back-to-school adrenaline though because I took a picture of him with his backpack on and he gave me a good cheese! It was so fun to drop him off at the same spot I dropped him off at just 10 months ago for his “Medical School Interview”.

And, honestly I can say that I am loving being pregnant. I guess I never really paid attention before when pregnant women would talk about feeling the baby “kick”, but it is the BEST thing ever. This little girl is pretty active, and I think she likes chocolate, PBJ sandwiches, and bread! Just like her mommy...Brandon loves to “talk” to her and give her good advice about the world outside. My favorite is when he tells her that she will be in trouble for “making her mommy ornery”….err…that never happens ::wink::

We just hit our “3^rd Trimester” countdown, which is exciting and scary all at the same time. A huge part of me is of course so excited to hug and kiss and snuggle with this little girl inside of me, and another part of me is trying to “buy” more time before she comes! Maybe I won’t feel so anxious once we unpack our apartment, and once we buy her a crib, and once we buy our first “baby item”.

28 Weeks, and a "Welcome to our new Cubicle, I mean apartment" picture

Catching UP

We have LOT to catch up on friends, practically a whole Summer's worth. AND, I got an amazing new camera from my sweet husband for my birthday so you can bet that one day this blog will be FULL of candid shots.

BUT, for now...Brandon starts school next Tuesday!!!!! and we move into Student Housing next Wednesday!! Which means our nights are filled with packing up our apartment and trying to figure out how we will fit 3000 square feet of things into a tiny 700 square ft living space. Anyone want anyting? We are joining our family for a huge Yard Sale tomorrow if you're interested. And if that hasn't piqued your interest, search KSL Classifieds because Brandon has practically opened up a part-time job wheelin-and-dealin.

And, Baby Junya is doing well, so well in fact that she is kicking me right now! Guess she just wants to say hi.

And as for a belly shot, well that will have to wait since our computer is being packed up.

But the other night, Brandon did say, "Babe, you're starting to look like the Grinch."


And for any of you who know me, you will understand that it was one of the best compliments I have ever received. Now all I do all day is walk around "Schlumping" and "Schlunking" and quoting lines from the Grinch, and my belly has really helped me get in character!


To be continued after we close the next two-most-hectic-weeks-of-2010.

Pink

Pink, it’s the color I know best.

Baby Junya's Aunts

We had our ultrasound yesterday and found out that we are going to be welcoming a baby girl to our family! We couldn’t be more excited.

The baby is measuring great, and she is as healthy as can be. Her heart is healthy, her brain is healthy, her spine looked great, and there weren’t any signs or cause for concern. I am so grateful and I thank my Heavenly Father hourly for our sweet baby and for her health, as well as my own health. We couldn’t feel more blessed!

17 Weeks

Read Below to hear our story about our little First Bundle of Joy:

He Did Provide Means for Us

I consider myself a woman of faith. I have really tried to live my life with the Lord at the reins. I feel like I have had enough experiences in life to remind me that when I put my complete and total trust in God, that my life is better…fuller. So it’s humbling and interesting to me to realize that in one of the most important decisions I would ever need to make, starting our family, I wasn’t including Him in my blueprint.

Our first year of marriage, I had a good excuse. I couldn’t get pregnant. The Doctors told me I would need to wait a year to get pregnant after radiation. I was off the hook.

Our second year of marriage, I had no excuse. Except I made one up anyway. I can’t remember if it was, “Well we don’t know where we are going to end up.” Or if I would think, “I know I have been cancer free for a year now, and the Doctors gave us the go ahead, but maybe I should just keep waiting anyway.” Whatever my excuses were, I assure you…they were good. I am an Excuse-Making genius.

Back in December of 2009, we found ourselves between apartments, Caribbean-bound, and living in my Dad’s basement. My sweet husband, whose dream it was to begin our family practically the day we married, would just keep his thoughts to himself. He knew I was afraid. And I sounded pretty adamant about MY plan, so he just casually mentioned that he thinks we should start to consider starting a family. He was patient. He was understanding. And the more and more I considered this “family” business, the more and more I was convinced that it wasn’t the right time.

We didn’t know if we were going to end up in the Caribbean for school. And I certainly didn’t want to have a baby in the first year of Medical School. The only thing I could think of that made sense was that the baby would be born in 2010, and I like even-numbered years. I presented my reasons to Brandon, and his simple response was, “Stuff like that doesn’t matter. If we are doing what the Lord wants us to do, everything else works out.” My humble, faithful, man of Faith.

So, I did what I should have done a long time ago. I took my question to the Lord. It was a cold rainy day in January, so I sat in my car on my lunch break. I brought out my scriptures and opened with a prayer, which went something like, “Heavenly Father. I really don’t think we should be starting our family right now. I just want to wait. Can’t we just wait for at least a couple of months until we find out where we are going to end up? I bet we’ll know the U of U’s decision by April. We can just wait until April to start trying, can’t we? I can’t deliver on an island! I need an epidural!” And in the way the Lord always answers our prayers, a quiet, humble and peaceful moment began. I had started ::again:: my yearly reading of the Book of Mormon, which brought me again to 1^st Nephi. These were the words I turned to:

“1 …And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our women did bear children in the wilderness.

2 And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.

3 And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.” (1 Nephi 17: 1-3)

I closed the book, and then I laughed. And then a tear fell down my face. Now there are only a handful of moments in my life where I have received a direct answer through a specific scripture, and I do believe that this moment will become one of the best turning points in my life.

We weren’t going to be living in the wilderness! We would have food; we would even have a clean hospital! All fear left my thoughts, and I said a prayer of gratitude. All of this time, I really thought I knew what our plan should be. All of this time, I had everything planned out. And all of this time, I was forgetting to consult with my Maker. He who knows my life from the beginning to end would surely have our best interest in mind.

And so, we were blessed beyond measure. We were lucky because we finally decided to begin our family, and the Lord agreed.

Five weeks later, we waited for those 2 minutes of the Pregnancy Test. We walked into the bathroom, I peered behind Brandon’s shoulder as he looked at the Plus sign. He cheered, he hugged me…he was so excited. And I was too. I was ready, but I would be lying if in my head I didn’t think to myself, “I might really have to deliver on an island.” But it didn’t matter anymore, because I knew the Lord would nourish us, and strengthen us, and provide a means for us to begin our family in 2010. And we were going to be having a Baby!

That very next night, we got the call from Brandon’s Mom that his letter from the University of Utah had arrived in the mail…..

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.” (Matt. 6:34.)

I realize how much of a blessing it truly is to be pregnant, to start a family, and to do it without complications. I am humbled and amazed that we are blessed to have this new life and new experience.

Awesome Video

Check out this awesome 2-minute video that Brandon made, and let me know what you think!

Go Jazz!

I know what you're thinking, Brandon has taken over the blog: but you're wrong. I'm just as big of a Jazz fan as he is!

And, I know I should really be cheering for the Nuggets, since they're my hometown boys...but seriously, I'm just not feeling it.

Let's hope tonight they close out with a 4-1 series, so that we can have some time to actually have a life again before the next playoff round begins!


Go D-Will!


*Picture of us at the Jazz-Nuggets Game 3. We may have been in row 709, but we still had fun with our buddies, the Koops!

Dr. Brandon Garth Wilkinson, M.D.

There is a united feeling of exhilaration in the Wilkinson home, because after years of hard work and dedication provided by the amazing Brandon, he has been accepted into Medical School!

I have been patiently waiting to post the events leading up to this occasion, and you my fellow (10) readers have been just as patient. This might explain the last ::year:: of my lack-of-posts. Or I could be using it as an excuse. But this last year has been one of growth, answered prayers, humbling experiences, disappointments, tears, laughter, and faith.

I am so proud of my husband and his accomplishments. The road has been long, tears have been shed, frustration and disappointment have occurred, and all along Brandon’s faith and desire to become a Doctor never wavered. I wish I could have said the same for myself. Being the bystander, not fully comprehending what was going on in his mind, often times left my faith being tried. The questions and doubt never lasted long, though. I saw the determination and dedication in my husband and I knew he was destined to do what he has always wanted to do.

It all began in 2007, Brandon’s plan was to finish school, marry me, study hard for the MCAT, and then enter into Medical School August of 2008. Our plans changed a little bit after we found out I had been diagnosed with cancer. So by my hospital bedside my Prince Charming would sit, when he knew he had about 15 MCAT books waiting for him at home. He pre-registered for the MCAT in February, planning to take it on July 13, 2007. Sounded like a perfect plan. Well, July 13^th came only 6 days before our wedding, and only 12 days after my second emergency surgery. But my brave Groom walked into the Testing Center and took the MCAT anyway. He didn’t even study a wink. And he beat the monkey!

2008 brought some new challenges, but Brandon still had a plan to apply. We knew that applying that year would be a little premature, but he had finished all of his requirements, and why not get a jump start? The results from his test weren't as desired, but we still hoped, and then were declined. Trying to look at it positively, we felt that going through that process not only humbled us, but brought us closer together. We gained experience for the next year, and Brandon's drive only became stronger.

Enter 2009: Brandon spent hours upon hours doing everything he could to improve his Application (which, if you ask me, was already the most well-rounded application I had ever seen. No bias needed). He enrolled in an extensive MCAT class, shadowed an awesome Anesthesiologist, mentored high school students (for free!), wrote an amazing Personal Statement, and then submitted his application in June of 2009. He had an interview in November 2009 at the University of Utah. We were excited, but still cautious. Because we had been down that road once before.

January 2010 we received some GREAT news: Brandon was accepted into the Saba School of Medicine. A US Accredited Medical located in the Caribbean. Never heard of it? Neither had we. But the school was one of the Top 3 in the Caribbean, and it would have only been 2 years before we transferred for Rotations into the US. We could do that. Located here:

We thought it would be a great adventure, and as the days went on we started packing our bags for Student Orientation in May 2010. I started daydreaming about sipping Pineapple Smoothies on the beach and walking barefoot to the local General Store. Come to find out, the island relies on a Cistern and the rainfall for their running water. Showers twice a week? I could do that! We secured our seat deposit, so we knew: No matter what happened, Brandon was Med School bound for 2010. What a good feeling that is. I cancelled my gym membership, Brandon sold about everything we own on KSL Classifieds, and we started planning on being Caribbean babes for the next two years.

Ever since I knew Brandon, he has set and achieved about every goal and aspiration he puts his mind to. That is just the type of man that he is. When we were dating, he told me he wanted to become a Doctor, and he wanted to go to the University of Utah.

The tone of our prayers changed from the first year we applied, to the second year we applied. We would pray that we could get accepted into the U of U Medical School, we would plead, we knew it was where we were supposed to go. This past year, our prayers changed that the Lord would put us in the place that HE needed us to be. The right place, the right school, the right experience…we knew it was all up to the Lord and where HE wanted us to be. So we turned our will over to the Lord, and prayed and fasted, and prayed and fasted some more that Brandon would be able to continue in his dream and become a Doctor.

Because we have been so transient lately (sidenote: we moved to Sandy…that’s another blogpost), we use Brandon’s parents address as our permanent residence. This is an important part of information that you don’t THINK you need to know, but you do.

On March 17^th we were sitting at home, it was about 10PM and Brandon’s phone rang. It was his Mom. She said she had just gotten home, and that there was a letter in the mail from the University of Utah. Brandon’s first question was, “Is it a small envelope, or is it a big envelope?” She said it was a small envelope. In our experience, we knew that a small envelope = rejection. We dropped to our knees and prayed that we would have faith and patience in the Lord’s plan, and then we got in the car. We drove and met her halfway to pick up the envelope. The 15 minute drive back home felt like 2 hours. We didn’t say a word. I didn’t even hold the envelope. I put it on the floor of the car. I worried that my amazing telepathic skills might be able to sense something through the envelope ;).

We made it home. We walked in the door. Brandon stood with the envelope and I stood behind him peeking over his shoulder. The letter was out of the envelope, but all we could see was Brandon’s name and address. He folded it once to read the words,

“Dear Brandon,

I am delighted to….”

And then all heck broke lose on my end. I screamed, I jumped, I jumped and straddled Brandon. I sobbed. Brandon was literally HOLDING me on his waist, while trying to balance the letter in his other hand. “Wait!” He said, “Let me read the whole thing and make sure that’s what it said!”

He finished, “I am delighted to offer you a position into the 2010 Freshman Class of the University of Utah School of Medicine.”

I can’t even begin to tell you how proud I am of Brandon. This was an absolute answer to our prayers, a true miracle on our behalf. But it was also complete proof of how amazing my husband is. He never ONCE gave up. He never ONCE wavered in his determination to fulfill his dream. He deserves this more than anybody I know. In fact, as I type this I am getting a lump in my throat :)

Mind the crappy iPhone pics, our camera broke. Which I will say is ANOTHER reason why I haven't been blogging :)

The celebratory table at our new apartment. Notice the Red and White balloons (with a little bit of Royal Blue sprinkled in ;)This was a Celebration Dinner TWO YEARS in the making. We went to Outback, and I told Brandon he could order whatever he wanted. He deserved it. Well, he definitely ordered whatever he wanted. Both of those plates are his! Full rack of ribs and a New York strip steak were on the menu for him that night. We figured we'd pay it off with one of the many things Brandon sold on KSL, since now we get to KEEP everything we own and not live out of a suitcase for the next 2 years.