The Tahoe

Jason and I recently purchased a new vehicle because my old Maxima was pretty much on the fritz. So, here it is! The grill is now black instead of chrome (I'm just not a flashy person, so it had to go!). I am soooo incredibly thankful! And I absolutely love it!

3 weeks, 4 days

I've never been one to count down my life like I have the past couple of years (I know y'all are shocked). I try to take each day or week as it comes and although I look forward to exciting events, such as birthdays, graduations, weddings, vacations, etc, I've never been one to wish away time. When Jason and I got married almost 5 years ago, we started on a journey unlike most newly married couples. We didn't buy a house right away and think about starting a family. Jason worked the night shift for the first two years while I tried to finish up at Mercer while teaching aerobics and working as an intern at an accounting firm in Macon. Needless to say, we've never had the experience of coming home 5 nights a week and cooking dinner together and then going to bed together. Since we got married when we "were 5" as one of my good friend's puts it, we were required to forego the "typical" newleywed stage of our marriage. But, we were together and that was good enough for me....for the first few years. During the last couple of years, with Jason traveling for school and me passing the CPA exam and now trying to finish my Masters degree, the crazy schedules have taken a toll on me, and I cannot wait to have a "normal" married life!! (Disclaimer: I do realize that there is no such thing as "normal," but I want as close to it as I can get!). I've experienced the husband working the night shift 4-5 nights a week, the husband traveling out of town for a year and a half for rotations, and both of us pulling all nighters to study for exams or complete projects. So, I'm counting down, hopefully for the last time in a long while....3 weeks, 4 days until I'm done with my Masters and our life as a long-awaited "normal" married couple can FINALLY begin!

Quarter of a Century

Couple of things that have been happening with our lives:

1. Well, I am officially 25, which is really unbelievable to me. The night before my birthday, I was studying for a midterm in my guest bedroom and noticed a photo album that my Nanny made for me when I was a baby. It has pictures from the hospital and other occations. (As most of you know, my Nanny passed away a few years ago...I still miss her everyday). Those pictures are absolutely priceless.
   
   
   
2. My 25th birthday was a really great one! Jason and I celebrated by going to Bonefish Grill on Saturday night in Augusta. Kevin, one of my favorite people and one of our best friends, joined us as well. It was relaxing evening with excellent food (yummy Bang Bang Shrimp!!). On my birthday, the girls at work took me out for lunch, and Jessica and Abby gave me an order of Bethany's yummy cookies, Starbucks whole bean coffee and the most amazing Starbucks coffee mug. The coffee mug doesn't leak, even when turned upside down!! Its awesome and definitely reduces the stress of getting from my house to the car in the morning with computers, workpapers, lunch and coffee in tow. We went to Bible study that evening and the girls there had gotten me a chocolate cake with chocolate icing!! Yummy!! And I almost forgot....I got the sweetest card, flowers and a blog post from one of my favorite babies in the whole world....Charlie Cain! It was a perfect birthday!
   
   
   
   
3. Other than my 25th birthday, nothing very exciting has happened. Jason and I have both been working very hard. We have one of our busiest deadlines on March 31, so I am counting down the days until March 31st comes and goes. Jason has been working very hard. He is working 6 weeks with the burn patients and 6 weeks in the regular OR. I am so proud of him, and we know his hard work is going to pay off.
   
   
   
   
   
4. As far as school goes, I have 6 weeks and 4 days left, and I will not be happier to close this door! I am B-U-R-N-E-D O-U-T for sure! I'm thankful that I am almost done.
   
   
   
   
5. Jason and I have booked a trip to a Sandals resort in Antigua (which looks absolutely beautiful!!) to celebrate his graduation, my graduation and.......OUR 5th ANNIVERSARY!! Yes, it has been 5 awesome years! I can't believe it. I am so thankful for such an awesome husband!
   
   
   
   

Hopefully I will be able to post a little more once March 31st comes and goes!

Exciting Week at the Faunces

For those who follow this blog, I am so sorry for not updating the blog for quite some time. Some incredibly exciting things have happened since I last posted. Specifically, Jason passed his Boards, so he is officially a CRNA! Also, I have officially started my LAST semester in the Auburn Masters program! I have become slightly bitter about finishing school as my husband gets to come home everynight from work and relax all evening....not fair! But, I am happy for him, and I know he has worked hard. I know that May will be here before I know it, and we will get to enjoy relaxing evenings together for the first time in our almost-five-year marriage.

This week has been an especially exciting week in the Faunce household. Jason started working at Doctors Hospital (well, he really works for Anesthesia Consultants of Augusta, a private practice that contracts with Doctors), he received his first paycheck yesterday in the mail (literally, thank the Lord), and we got 4 inches of snow this weekend!

The snow started around 4:00 pm on Friday afternoon and continued until late evening. It was absolutely beautiful. The dogs had very different perspectives on the snow. Bella thought it was incredible (probably due to the husky in her), while Bruiser was a little unsure about the snow.

Last night, we spent the evening watching sweet Charlie so that Jessica and Travis could go out for Valentine's Day. (He was such a great baby, and we just love him!) Jessica jokingly mentioned that we should have brought clothes over to spend the night given that the conditions were pretty bad. Jason and I ventured back to our house, carefully, despite the snow covering the roads. Little did we know that we would be back at Jessica and Travis' house at 7:30 the next morning as a result of the power going out at our house!

We had a great morning hanging out with the Cains. Jessica cooked us a yummy breakfast that definitely beat Waffle House in my breakfast ranking, and we got to play with Charlie while he experienced his first snow! Jason and Travis "played" in the snow for awhile as well (boys will be boys...). The Cains were so sweet to take us in until our power came back on. We love y'all!

Christmas in PTC

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families in Peachtree City. I took the entire week off, packed up and got out of Jason's hair so he could study all week. I spent the majority of the week with my mom, cooking, baking, and shopping. We spent one day making Daddy Jack's homemade vegetable soup (which I now have stored in the freezer to be eaten for lunch or a quick dinner during my approaching busy season - thanks, Mom!!). We also made a yummy spinich and sausage quiche and a peanut butter pie to die for! My mom and I also traveled to LaGrange to visit with Isa for an afternoon and love on that sweet Josephine. We had a great week together!

On Christmas Eve, Jason took a break from studying for his Boards and came to join me in Peachtree City. Last year, we spent Christmas Eve with my family (which meant waking up on Christmas morning with my family). So, it was only fair that we spent Christmas Eve with Jason's family this year since both of our parents love having their kids home for Christmas morning. We went to the Christmas Eve service that evening and then over to Mike and Lori's for dinner, which was so much fun!

One of the Christmas traditions in the Faunce household is that Jason's mother always makes homemade cinnamon rolls to eat on Christmas morning. And when I say homemade, I mean 100% from scratch....yummy!! I was so excited to be able to help my mother-in-law make these yummy cinnamon rolls this year and share in this special tradition. They were absolutely delicious! Here are some pics from the adventure below:

I realize that this picture has absolutely nothing to do with the yummy cinnamon rolls, but this is Jason's parent's newest addition to their family. Snickers belonged to our friend, Kevin, but was recently adopted by Jason's parents. Isn't he cute??

Graduation!!!

I know this post is a little delayed, but Jason has officially graduated from the CRNA program at MCG! Friday, December 11, 2009, is a day that definitely rivals my wedding day and the day I passed the CPA exam as one of the best days of my life so far!

The night before graduation, Jason's class had a graduation party downtown at the Marburry Center. It was a great time for us to celebrate with the 14 other individuals who have suffered through the program with him for the past 2 1/2 years! These people have become like family to us.

On Friday was Jason's actual graduation. We had family come into town to celebrate with us and then had a small cookout with friends and family after graduation. Jason and Kevin smoked a pig that they shot at the farm earlier in the week - thanks to Kevin for "babysitting" the pig while we went to graduation! It was absolutely delicious!

I am so proud of my husband, who is now studying for to take his Boards next month. He says until he passes, he's simply a glorified, overqualified nurse. Please pray for him over the next few weeks as he studies for his test. I know he'll do great, but it's still a little stressful, nonetheless.

Happy Times

This past week has been an exciting week in the Faunce household. Jason completed his LAST day of rotations, which means he is officially done with the CRNA program at MCG! Words cannot express how proud I am of my husband for toughing it out for the past two and a half years. It's hard to believe the next time he goes to the hospital it will be as a CRNA and not as a student! We are looking forward to the week ahead. Our families are coming into town for Jason's graduation (well, pseudo-graduation - the real ceremony is in May, but they are having a ceremony for the December graduates). We will also be going to a graduation party for his class as well as having a cookout for him here at the house on Friday. These are definitely happy times in our lives, and we are soaking up every moment!