Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You...

...Getting to Like You, Getting to Hope You Like Me...

The King and I, anyone??

This week was packed full of social events!! On the front end it was all about meeting knew folks and getting to know new friends better! The tail end involved a trip home and catching up with family and friends!

Tuesday we attended the Riverheads Young Farmers and Ranchers summer social. This group is a little different than the Farm Bureau associated organization that most readers will be familiar with. For starters, the average age of the attendees was probably around 60. But I imagine a lot of their goals are the same. They mentioned being part of a big Virginia Farm Tour and seem to be a really active group that does great things. It was a great opportunity for us both to meet knew people and to hang out with some of Clark's coworkers and FFA members' parents. It seemed like a lot of the members are Westwood clients. I am really looking forward to working with the group in promoting agriculture, supporting the youth, and maybe even as some members' veterinarian!

Wednesday night was trivia at Zabb's in downtown Staunton with some of the Westwood gang. Westwood probably accounted for half of the people in the restaurant :) So we broke into two teams and had a friendly competition. Both teams represented well. The team Clark and I were on, the Westwood Wonders, was leading right up until the end. But in the final round, including a wager, we blew it and the the other Westwood team took home the honors! It was a lot of fun and I'm just glad that we all represented well!

Thursday was a long anticipated "girls" night with my landlord and coworkers at Baja Bean. What was supposed to be a group of 7 ended up being a group of 3-but that's OK! We made the most of it... and the three of us realized that we were the only ones without children :) We missed the others, but it was certainly understandable why they couldn't join us. I'm looking forward to having children one day, but it definitely made me appreciate how life and priorities change once wee ones join the family.

There were a few low points in the week that I'll go ahead and get out of the way...
The week before we noticed that Sadie had a lump on the inside of her right elbow. I knew that it was most likely a "lipoma" or benign fatty tumor, but I wanted to be sure. I took her to work and we poked with a needle to get a sample; sure enough it was. Normally it would be ok to just leave the mass and monitor it for changes. However, with it being in a strange location, we opted to go ahead and have it removed so it would be easier to close the incision. I knew that I did not want to do the surgery myself, but I had no idea I would get so nervous about my own dog being anesthetized! But everything went fine and she even got her teeth cleaned while she was under.

Sadie on the way home after her surgery.
I think she looks good as a truck dog!

Friday was another tough day in small animal. My morning started off by getting bit by a German Shepherd. Fortunately, the bite itself wasn't bad at all; but it was my first time being bitten and it was a pretty scary situation. It definitely shook me up and had my adrenaline pumping. Which was pretty unfortunate because my next appointment was my first small animal euthanasia. I was nervous and it was a sad case, but we were able to prevent that animal from suffering any longer and give the owners peace about their pet. There were a couple of other tough cases throughout the day that really got my wheels cranking; They were the kind of cases that "followed me home." I've thought about them a lot of the weekend and hope they're doing OK!

Enough of that...now to more good stuff!!

I got home from work around 8:00 Friday night (yikes!) and we hit the road to NC shortly after. We arrived to Clark's parents' house around midnight. It was strange to look across the yard and to see someone else's vehicles in the driveway, but honestly, it wasn't as weird as I thought it would be. Clark and I both agreed that what was most strange was looking out to the dog lot and NOT see Bo, Sadie, and Tucker out there waiting for us.

Saturday morning I got to catch up with my good friend, Devon. We went to Mooresville and had a little retail therapy. That afternoon Clark and I went to see my sweet grandmother and then stopped by Pines Pool to see Bob, Deona, and Marion. Luckily, there were several members of our Concordia Church family there too. Saturday night we had a blast celebrating the upcoming marriage of our friends Philip and Lindsay. It was so good to hang out with our "circle of friends." We are so excited for Philip and Lindsay and can't wait to watch them tie the knot in November!

Sunday morning we traveled to Hiddenite to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pastor and Mrs. Cook being at Berea Baptist Church.

Photo cred: Jill King

I turned 26 in April, so as far as I can remember these two have been the shepherds of my home church. They are wonderful, loving, Godly people and we have been blessed to be under their leadership. The celebration was a surprise to Pastor Cook! It was a very special day and I hope that Pastor and Mrs. Cook felt the love and appreciation our church has for them!

Unfortunately, we had to head up 77 pretty early in the afternoon. Clark and I decided pretty early that our trip wouldn't be complete without stopping here...

Oh that beautiful yellow and red!

We have figured out that the closest Bojangles to Staunton is about 75 miles away so I imagine we will be hitting that location on our travels to and from NC!

This weekend was just what we needed! This past week marked our 1 month moving to Staunton, so it was perfect timing to head home. While we didn't see everyone, we saw a pretty big chunk of our family and friends. I was nervous that the trip might make me homesick. While I miss everyone at home very much and will always be a North Carolinian at heart, I still had a smile on my face as we entered the Shenandoah Valley.

A Glimpse into the Next 30 Years

This week Clark and I started settling in to something that will likely resemble our routine...

Clark had meetings nearly every day at school and got to meet some of his students at Freshman Orientation Tuesday night. He's been pretty busy preparing to teach a new curriculum and helping the Ag. Teacher with FFA activities. He had the opportunity to meet the chapter officers at a meeting on Friday and attended a bake sale at Tractor Supply on Saturday. I had the opportunity to go to Riverheads on Thursday (my day off) to see the school and meet some of the folks Clark will be working with. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming and seem to be excited that Clark has joined them. Students start school tomorrow and I have no doubt Clark will do a great job teaching a new subject in a new school.

Wednesday we got to experience what life "on call" is like. The folks at work are letting Erin and I get good and settled in before we are regulars on the large animal on call schedule. However, this week the other mixed animal vet was out of town and he asked if I would take his night on call. I was happy to do so. I eventually had to have my first night on call, so might as well get it under my belt. Fortunately, there were only two calls, and they ended up not being true emergencies. Unfortunately, the second call interrupted dinner with friends. Our friends Laura, Andrew, and their adorable son Curtis happened to be vacationing in the area this week. Wednesday seemed to be the only night that worked for both of us. I prepped them about being on call and kept my fingers crossed. Call #1 came right at 5 o'clock so we pushed dinner back an hour. We had just ordered our food when the phone rang. Fortunately, due to the circumstances and it not being a true emergency we were able to (hurriedly) finish dinner before making Call #2. It was so great to once again have some old friends in town. They did some neat things in the area and told us about some great places they ate at. I can't wait to try some of their recommendations.

None of my pics could truly capture his cuteness!
What a joy!

Thursday we went to the Rockingham County Fair. It was much bigger than the Augusta County fair... almost as big as the Mountain State or Dixie Classic Fairs in NC. Highlights included watching the some of the dairy showmanship classes, eating deep fried country ham sandwiches for dinner (no shame!), Kachunga and the Alligator Show, seeing Erin & Jesse, an antique tractor pull...

My very first tractor pull!

And last but certainly not least...

OK so I took this video of some really adorable duckies going down a slide and I can't get it uploaded :(

I may just have to see if I can get it on Facebook for you to see there

Sorry folks.. technology problems...

Friday and Saturday were small animal days. Honestly, Friday was pretty tough. To simplify: I'm just going to have to learn that I can't save them all, I'm not always going to know the answer, and I'm not always going to please everyone. And this is a VERY hard lesson for me. Don't get me wrong, the greatest majority of my cases and client interactions are going great! But that small percent of less than ideal situations really bother me. I'm a non-boat-rocking-people-pleaser. But the sooner I square with the realities of this career and just take what lessons I can from each situation and move on, the more I will enjoy my job and life in general. I'm certainly learning every day and have wonderful help and support at work that make each day great.

Saturday evening we traveled back up to Harrisonburg, but this time to do a little shopping. The mall there is quite bigger than the one and Staunton and there are lots more stores there in general. We broke our streak of going to local, non-chain restaurants and ate at Outback. But we vow to visit downtown Harrisonburg one day and check out the food scene there.

Today we tried a new church. My coworker had invited us there with her and her family. We went to the early service, Sunday School, and then brunch at Kathy's with them. It was great spending time with her and her family and everyone at the church was very welcoming.

We're looking forward to this week- lots of social activities planned. We're excited to meet new people and get to know new friends even better! Hope everyone has a great week!

A Week of Firsts

We've had another great week here in Staunton! While we've experienced a whole lot of "firsts" over the last several months, this week had some that particularly stand out...

1. My first, real world paycheck! 
Up until vet school, I have had a job since I was 14. Once vet school started, I knew I would be unable to maintain good grades, a long distance relationship, my sanity, and a job. Vet school was a job enough so until July I had been unemployed for four years. It was tough at times knowing my only income was coming from a source that I would have to repay. Needless to say, getting that first paycheck felt awesome! I even took Clark out to dinner that night :) Which led to our...

2. First Trip to Baja Bean Co.
Most people know that I. LOVE. MEXICAN. FOOD. I think that I could literally eat Mexican everyday. We had heard that Baja Bean was delicious, but man-oh-man was it good! Clark got the Enchilada Jardin with steak and I had the So Gouda Tacos. And they were so gouda! We definitely will be frequent flyers there. And conveniently enough, it's located right next to The Split Banana... this could be a problem...

3. Clark's First Day of Work
Technically Clark is a 10 year teaching veteran, but I would be remiss not to mention it. His ability to find a job so quickly, the reception he has gotten, and the progress being made to get him back into ag is a testament to God's hand in our move.

4. First Augusta County Fair
One of the things we love about this area is that livestock showing is a HUGE past time. This week was the Augusta County Fair. Clark and I thought that checking it out would both a fun activity and a way to meet folks in the community. The Augusta County fair is not very big- probably a touch bigger than the Alexander County fair. The big showing event in the area happens in May- The Augusta County Market Animal Show. We were told that there were 120 steers alone at this years event. We can't wait to go next year! My first interactions with a veterinarian were as a young 4-Her so the opportunity to pay it forward is really exciting. But I digress... We arrived to the fairgrounds just in time to see the Grand Champion Market Lamb Drive. As soon as I looked in the ring I saw a familiar face- the judge was a former extension agent from NC! Small world! And the world got even smaller when Clark returned to the fair on Friday and his fraternity brother was judging the goat show! Being part of the FFA/4-H/Show world is so great because you can't go anywhere without running it to someone you know.

5. First Saturday at Westwood
Everyone had been warning me that Saturdays are crazy...and they were right. There was a line at the door when we opened at 8 and we didn't stop until we walked out just before 2. It was really good though. Everyone said I passed since I was till smiling at the end of the day :)

6. First trip to Waynesboro
Waynesboro is a town about 12 miles southeast of Staunton. It's a little bigger with more amenities like a Target, Kohls, Michaels, and Ross :) (I may be just a little excited to have located all of those not too far away). After consulting Tripadvisor, we settled on the #1 ranked restaurant in Waynesboro, The Green Leaf Grill. Once again, we were NOT disappointed. Very good food, reasonable prices, and worth the drive! On the way in we noticed Kline's Dairy Bar....so you can probably guess where we stopped on the way home...

7. First Sunday together in Staunton
Every weekend since the move, Clark has been in or headed to NC on Sunday to take care of things at home. Fortunately he was able to spend the whole weekend here in Staunton and we could start our search for a church. God has worked out all the other details of our move perfectly, we know that He will provide us a place to serve and worship Him.

So obviously, it was another great week! I would also be remiss if I didn't mention that it was Erin's first week of work too. It is seriously awesome to have a friend and classmate as a colleague. I'm so happy to be able to share my life and work expreriences with a great friend! This week will probably bring more firsts and I can't wait!

God is Good!

I have a very good friend who often tells me how obvious God's movement in my life is. And it's true. Very, very true. And God's hand couldn't be any more obvious in mine and Clark's life than it has been over the last several weeks. First he blessed me with an awesome job and worked out a wonderful place for us to live. This week the blessings continued- Clark has accepted a job and we have renters for the house in North Carolina!

Starting this coming week, Clark will be the new technology education teacher at Riverheads High School. Technology Education? That's not ag. ed!? You're right. But this position is a great way for Clark to get his foot in the door at a great school. Everyone we run into tells us that Riverheads is a wonderful school in a great part of the county. This year Clark will teach courses that are both computer and shop based, so it won't be a big difference from the ag mechanics classes he was teaching before. His shop and classroom are right beside the ag classroom and shop, so he will have the opportunity work closely with the Ag teacher and maybe even help with the FFA chapter. If things go right and enrollment allows, the administration seems open to having two ag teachers in the future so we're hopeful that Clark be back to teaching ag in a year. One minor detail that we're pretty excited about- the Riverheads school colors are red, black, and white :) Being NC State grads, that color combo comes pretty naturally to us. We loved being WR Falcon fans, but honestly, wearing THAT shade of blue was pretty painful sometimes. We won't have to dig very far in our wardrobes to find the right gear to cheer on the Gladiators. 

AND we have renters for the house in NC! What a huge relief! We are so thankful that it's settled and that financial burden is alleviated for now. 

Other great things from this week....

Our landlord invited us out to have dinner with her, her boyfriend, and another couple. And this is her view. Can you say, WOW! It was a wonderful meal with even better company. Julia fixed her take on this Pioneer Woman recipe and I made these Carmelitas for dessert. SO. GOOD. I was so grateful for their outreach and the chance to meet new people and develop relationships. I look forward to hanging out at the farm more in the future! 

Friday brought more visitors!

We were so happy to have these munchkins with us for part of the weekend. Friday night we went to the Dairy Rite which proved to be a great choice for the kiddos. Each of them got a Kid's Meal that came in a little cardboard Cadillac tray and with a token for a kid's sized ice cream. The kids loved it and all of the adults enjoyed their meal too. Saturday morning we went out to the clinic so they could see "Aunt Jenna's work." Luckily there were some foals and a kitty for them to pet so they thought that was pretty cool. Next, we traveled down to Riverheads so they could see "Uncle Clark's Work." Afterwords we went to  Gypsy Hill Park so the children could play. Gypsy Hill is a big, wonderful park with lots of activities to keep kids and adults entertained. 

First we played on the awesome playground...

Then we went to check out the beautiful duck pond...

 Our last stop at the park was the train...

We wrapped up the afternoon with lunch at Kathy's (seeing a weekend pattern here...) where fortunately, they were still serving "breakfast"! After lunch Ray, Georgia, and the kids had to pack up and head back to NC. We were so happy that the kids were able to come see our "new house" and can't wait for them to come back and have more Virginia Adventures.