Easter 2014

I love Easter.
I adore what it represents and I am thankful for the opportunity that it gives us to reflect on the Savior.
We did the usual dying of eggs and then hunting bright colored plastic ones stuffed with candy. Our family read a scripture each night the week leading up to Easter to help us focus on the importance of the day. The Mr. and I even had the opportunity to go the Louisville Temple on Good Friday. It had been way.to.long. since we were in the house of the Lord. I truly felt spiritually fed. What an amazing reminder of the good feelings and how important it is to keep this focus always.

All of these sweeties will always have such a special place in my heart. It has been a true honor and blessing to be apart of these kids lives and get to know them. I often remember how Ellis was just learning to walk when I first saw him and now he is talking about marrying Brinley one day. I love them all and my heart is so heavy when I think of not getting to see them daily. They have taught me so many things and give me glimpses of what it would be like to a house full of little chicks. I always joke that when our friends ask me to watch their kids that they think I am doing them a favor but in reality it is the other way around. I appreciate the chance to get to know them and love them. In so many ways I am closer to them then my own nieces and nephews and I think that is partly due to the fact that I have been involved way more. The Sowby's, Terry's, and Barnette's have been our family away from family. I think the majority of my tears are from knowing that I am leaving a little piece of my heart here when we move. Thank you all for allowing me to be a part of their lives and giving Brinley the opportunity to have such close friends.

 Happy Easter from The Pierson's.

Match Party

We went to Knoxville last night for the DCOM match party. We have been super blessed with amazing friends during medical school. John had a pretty steady study group and I was blessed enough to hit it off with the wives of the guys that he studied with. We have been through a lot together and in so many ways became each others families away from family. That is the aspect of moving away that breaks my heart. It is so hard knowing that I won't see our friends anytime I want to now. Technology is seriously such a blessing though. It is comforting for me to know that I can still keep up with everyone on Facebook and through phone calls.

The gang's all here 

That's a pretty good looking group of doctors if you ask me

In 4 weeks we will officially be doctors wives...lol

The Sowby's and us! I can't even express how amazing these 2 people are. I love them both dearly and consider it a privilege to call them friends. 

I am so proud to be this cute mans wife. I seriously adore him. 

John, Deke and Joe. Love them all to pieces!

After we went to the match party we walked across the street and went to a comedy show. Demetri Martin was in town so we all splurged and got tickets to his show. He was actually really funny and it was fun to make another memory together before departing ways!

We went to the Brewhouse after the show. This has been a place that we have frequented often over the last 4 years with our friends and if you ever go I highly recommend the Dan's Pasta and the Pretzels with cheese dip! SO YUMMMMMY!

CONGRATS ON MATCHING EVERYONE!!!!! It is so exciting that everyone got into the programs they wanted and that we have so much to celebrate lately!

Seeing the Positives

You know how that saying goes? "When it rains it pours"?

 That seems to be quite the pattern in our little life. Things tend to come in spurts for us but I really believe that that's how it is for most people.

This has been a tough week but also very positive in so many ways. When we were driving home from Texas we stopped at John's grandparents house. We had had an exhausting week buying and finding our house so needless to say I was just feeling spent. When we arrived in Trenton, I started feeling super sick and having terrible pain. On Saturday morning when I woke up I realized that I was starting to miscarry (again). Don't be offended if you didn't know I was pregnant. No one knew yet and with my history I am starting to think we probably won't ever make another announcement till we have a healthy baby in our arms and we are being discharged from the hospital. I am starting to feel more like myself today and less like an emotional wreck so I have been able to make a little bit of progress as far as packing up the house goes and re-entering society. We actually have groceries in our house today after being out of town! It only took me 5 days to get to the grocery store. Thank goodness for fast food and a husband that treats me so well. He pretty much kept things running for me while I pity partied my days away with Dr. Phil and Mint Oreo Ice cream all week...lol

Trenton TN - This is the town where my grandparent in law's live and also where my mother in law grew up. I have been there several times to visit but I figured that I wanted a picture in front of the speed limit sign just because it is such a random speed limit. 

Brinley and Maddie. They are the same age and also cousins. This was the first time we met this little cutie and they sure did hit it off. They played so well! Maddie is just a sweetheart and we loved the chance to spend time with her. 

Brinley with her great grandparents! We had such a nice visit with them. They always make us feel so welcome I feel so at home there. Brinley loves them so much and is already asking when we can visit again.  I hope we can soon. 

The gang - me. Someone has to be behind the camera. 

On Monday I went to use my debit card and it said that it was unauthorized and declined (I needed more ice cream lol). I instantly freaked out thinking we had over-drafted but knowing in the back of my mind that there was plenty of money in the account I decided to call the bank. Someone in New York decided to clone my debit card and went on a grand ol' shopping spree to Staples, Nordstrom and filled up their gas tank. It took me most of the day to sort all of that out but thankfully we will be getting all of our money back so it really isn't that big of a deal,  just inconvenient.

On Wednesday after John came home for lunch he was heading back to the hospital and a school bus hit him and ran him off of the road! He honestly got so lucky! He could have been so badly injured and I just get sick to my stomach thinking about the if's and but's. We are so blessed that he was not injured and it was just the car that took the majority of the force. With as many crazy things that happen to us I am so convinced that we must have several guardian angels watching out for us. We are still waiting to hear from the insurance company about what to do with the car and if we will be totally covered. I don't know how all of that crazy stuff works but I am just so thankful we are dealing with material repairs and not human repairs. Stuff is just stuff and can be replaced.

So, that about sums up our week. There are a few graduation festivities we get to attend this weekend and our dear friend Deke is on his way now to stay with us! He has been Mississippi doing his rotations so it will be awesome to have the whole group back together . We are going to the match day party tomorrow and then to a comedy show with everyone afterwards. 

I can't believe that the end of medical school is here. It is so exciting. Despite having had such a rough week, it has given me the opportunity to really reflect on how lucky we are and how unbelievable blessed we are. I know that the Lord loves us very much and has given us all of these opportunities to grown closer to him and to each other. Perspective is so important and can really change the way a situation looks if you just choose to see it differently. 

John was spared from getting hurt and the car is still drive-able despite being hit by A BUS! All of our money is going to be credited back to us and it actually happened at a convenient time because I had just paid all of the bills and John filled up our gas tanks the day before so I really don't even need my debit card for a few days. As heartbreaking as another miscarriage is, at least I am able to get pregnant again. It took us so long to get pregnant before we miscarried last October and I was so scared that we were infertile but at least now we know that I am ovulating again and we ARE capable of conceiving. I have seen the Lord's hand in my life so much lately and it is just so humbling. I know that he loves me and I am so thankful to feel his love on a constant and daily basis. 

So...we bought a house

Our own house. I am so excited that we found the perfect house for our family. When we were looking online at homes after match day it was really stressing me out because the school systems that we wanted to live in were totally out of our price range. When we driving to Texas our real estate agent sent us the listing for this house and as soon as I opened it on my cell phone I knew that it was the one. It was right at our price point, fell in the school boundaries we wanted, and even had a pool in the subdivision which really excited Ms. Brinley. Once we saw it in person all 3 of us fell in love with it and knew that was the house that we wanted to make our home.

This is it. We are part of a really nice subdivision that is relatively new. We have a neighborhood pool that is across the street from the house as well as being next to a playground. Brinley's school is less than a mile from the house and on our street. The school is brand new and ranked very high for the area. John will only have a 10 minute commute to the hospital.

It's 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. It is 2400 sq/ft. The previous owners recently upgraded the kitchen with granite counter tops, re-did the bathrooms, and put new floors and carpet in.

We are so excited to have a back yard. We will be planting a garden and putting a play house in the backyard for Brinley. It is completely fenced around with a privacy fence which is so convenient.

This is the view of the upper living room/loft area from the downstairs living room. The ceilings are really high and there is a ton of natural light which is something that I love about the house.

Here is the kitchen. We are going to stain the cabinets a darker brown so that they will flow better with the granite and floors. The pantry is also pretty big and it is a walk-in.

We have a 'harry potter' closet under the stairs which Brinley is the most excited about.

The walk in closet in the master suite. The picture does not do it justice. It is really a huge closet! I am so excited to have enough room for all of our stuff for the first time.

 The master bathroom sinks. The granite and backsplash match the one in the kitchen. I will be staining these cabinets also.

One of the bedrooms. All of the ones upstairs pretty much look like this. This room will either be Brinley's room, spare/office, or a nursery (hopefully one day). 

We are so excited to get moved in! If anyone wants to come visit we would love to have you and we will certainly have room.

The Long and winding road

The last 4 years have been crazy. Crazy. Period.


 Medical school is an adventure unlike anything that I imagined it could be. We have had a unique set of challenges thrown at us as do all people. There have been moments where I thought medical school was the biggest mistake and I regretted every effort and decision I made to help my John achieve his goal. I don't even think I can count the number of nights I spent crying myself to sleep or remember how many midnight phone calls to my siblings I dialed because I was feeling so lonely.

There have been so many moments over the last 4 years where I was convinced that our family was cursed and that nothing was ever going to go our way. However, with graduation just a little over 4 weeks away I can honestly and constructively look back and say that this was the best thing that we have ever done. Although very hard, it has been an invaluable experience and so worth it. The relationships that we have gained with people and the experiences we have had make this the most amazing and beautiful journey. This place has become our home and I am very sad to think about leaving it. Middlesboro will always have a very special place in my heart, as will the great people that we have been privileged enough to call our friends. John has always told me that life isn't about the destination but about the ride. Now that we have successfully reached our 'destination' I am so thankful that I can look back on our journey and feel so much happiness.

I guess this is what life is all about. The journey. Finding joy in the journey isn't a requirement but it sure does make the trip easier and the destination taste even sweeter.

The next chapter of our story is taking us to Temple, Texas. John matched at Texas A&M in General Psychiatry. John is going exactly where he wanted to go. I am so happy for him and unbelievably proud. He has worked so hard to get here. John has never let anything stand in his way nor use anything as an excuse to not excel. He really is my hero in so many ways. His strength and levelheadedness keeps me so balanced and I am so excited to continue watching him grow as a physician. My husband was truly called to be a doctor and getting to be a part of the process to reach this point has been an honor.