Being THAT girl on the side of the interstate. Keepin' it classy, y'all.

I should have taken pictures, but I was so over it by the time I found myself on the side of the interstate at 9:45 p.m. in a bridesmaid dress with my hair did. And six and a half months pregnant. You get the picture. Kinda like this one to the right but a few hours later, with flip flops on and circles under my eyes.

When my trusty 1999 Sentra coughed unexpectedly on the way home from my friend's wedding, I had just enough time to move over to the emergency lane before losing power entirely. Phil was already home and asleep, preparing to take his board exam in the morning (only one of the most important tests he'll every take in his life and one he's been studying for for over a year--no big deal). I knew he'd be mad if I didn't at least call and let him know what happened, so after waking him up and assuring him that I was fine and rolling with the punches, it was my friend Christen who saved the day and came to my rescue.

Actually, a police officer came first. Not because I called him. Probably because he saw the likes of me and had to know the story. He gave me a ride to a McDonalds off the interstate where Christen picked me up. You should know that Christen had already driven 5-1/2 hours from Tallahassee that day, then driven an hour round trip to the same wedding I was in and was already in her PJs when I called her. She's THAT kind of friend, y'all.

So, this washed-up bridesmaid made it home safely, and the best part is that our car can be fixed for a couple hundred dollars and we don't have to buy a new one!

I'm warning you, though, Sentra. The next time will be the last straw, so pull yourself together, girl. We've been through too much together for you to quit on me now.

P.S. For safety and space reasons, I usually drive our other car with Moo while Phil takes his chances with the Sentra to and from work.

Three Things Thursday

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Thing one: why I've been away.
Truth moment. Part of why I've been such an inconsistent blogger lately is because, after over a year of catching up on the show, I finally finished watching every season of Friday Night Lights. Laugh. Roll your eyes. Do whatever you need to do to pass judgement on me for this, but y'all. It's such a great show. And the second half of that last season just baited me and I had to watch it instead of blog because I'd spent some serious time with those characters and needed to know where their lives were going. You understand, right?

Thing two: magazine I love.

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Last Christmas, my in-laws gave me a subscription to World Magazine and let me tell you: I'm loving it. Since I can't handle the worst-case-scenario nature of the news and I don't love reading my news online, this bi-weekly magazine is a great option for me. I can read it at my leisure, catch up on world news, and see some incredible pictures. While the magazine is from a Christian perspective, I'm impressed overall with the breadth of the coverage and the quality and balanced reporting of the writers.

Thing three: why decorating is NOT my thing.
We've been slowly converting our guest room into a nursery for Baby Girl. Right now, it just has a really great rug with a mattress on it that Moo likes to do flips on. Pretty much his dream room. Except that it's going to be his sister's (whom he's now calling "Sissy"--quite the upgrade from "Backseat").

It seems like women are expected to be able to do all things domestic--like it's in our DNA or something. Not so, people. Decorating, for example, is not my thing. As in what little I know comes from a few magazine articles, pining after everything at Pottery Barn, and asking my friends a million questions. So the idea of re-doing a room is daunting and, honestly, not fun for me. I'd rather spend my time on lots of other things. In fact, I'd rather pay someone to decorate for me, but I'm too cheap for that, so I'm stretching myself and trying to figure out this whole decorating a room thing on my own. Thanks to some sweet friends for their input, I'm making headway, but ready to be done. All I've decided on are the rug and curtains, but those are the biggest commitments to me, so I can work around that for the rest. Here's what I've got so far (pic on bottom is curtain pattern):

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If you're one of those people who likes to decorate and you happen to be my friend, I won't stop you if you want to give me advice or help. :) Just don't tell me you don't like what I've already chosen because that's already happened. Moving on.

Moo names his baby sister

Just for fun, every few days I ask Moo what he thinks we should name his sister. I admit it's completely for my own entertainment and not because I'm actually going to take his name suggestions into consideration. But they're awesome.

So far, the best have been:

"Mia"
"Ellis"

and my personal favorite:

"Backseat."

You should know that we talk about his sister a lot, and mostly he fixates on the idea that she'll be sitting in the backseat with him and will be his "backseat bubby (buddy)," as he says. So it only makes sense that he wants to name her "Backseat." But there are so many things wrong with naming a baby girl (or any baby, for that matter) "Backseat Johnson." Sorry, little guy. That name's not gonna fly.

P.S. Baby Girl is still nameless. Keep those suggestions comin'!

Whew!

For the past eight years, we've lived in a series of transitions, being told by institutions and hospitals where we would spend certain years of our lives. Four of those were in Birmingham for medical school, one was in Chattanooga for residency, and the final three were back in Birmingham to finish residency. Eight. Years. All we ever wanted was to settle down and be done with others telling us where to live and for how long.

But I forget how nice it is to have someone else tell you those things, to take on that ultimate responsibility of deciding. Not to mention having someone to blame if when you're unhappy with life.

Here we are, though, at the end of that eight-year journey. We're settling now--not compromising, but putting down roots. For the first time in our married lives (or really our memories), we're living in a place for the foreseeable future with no definite end in sight. And we love it. Roots? Community? Familiarity? Yes, please. But we're also feeling the weightiness that we made the decision to live here, a decision that will affect us and our children for years to come.

Mostly, after eight grueling years of med school and residency, we're just excited and relieved to be on the other side, not as an arrival point, but as a new beginning. Last Monday Phil started his REAL JOB, and it's gone about as well as a new job can go. For the way my man has worked diligently and humbly, struggling and triumphing with equal vision over the last eight years, I'm grateful and so, so very proud. Mostly, we're grateful to our Emmanuel--God WITH us--for leading us through this season, down to details we didn't even knew mattered.

And just for funsies, here's a little photo trip down memory lane from this journey. Wish I had Phil with a backpack on for his first day of each year, but I'm not that forward-thinking or sentimental, so what you see is what you get. Enjoy!

2005--Phil's 1st year in med school

2006

2007

2008

Match Day 2009

Med school graduation 2009

2009/2010

2010

2011

2012

2013