While You're Here Doc... : Special Visits

In my post a couple of weeks ago I somehow managed to leave out my trip to Raleigh! On December 13th I had the opportunity to return to the vet school and speak to a group of students interested in food animal/mixed animal practice. I traveled down the night before and stayed with one of my best vet school friends, Nikki. Nikki stayed in Raleigh another year to complete the Ruminant Health Internship. It was SOOOO good to see and spend time with her. To add to the goodness, I got to visit the family of one of my favorite professors, Dr. Foster, since they were hosting the Bovine Club at their house that night. He and his wife Jen have two adorable little boys that Nikki and I baby sat together several times. Since my visit they have added a beautiful little girl to their precious family. I can't wait to meet her! The next morning Nikki and I met my sister for breakfast at Bojangles so I could get my fix. I'm so glad I got to see Molly. We also surprised her at work the night before :) After breakfast, we joined another veterinarian, Christine, to meet with the students. Christine was two years ahead of Nikki and I and was such a good influence for me. She demonstrated what it was like to be a Christian, wife, and student leader during school. Additionally, she took me under her wing and fueled my interest in ruminant medicine. Christine, Nikki, and I all took different paths after graduation, so we were able to share our diverse life experiences with the students to hopefully give them some insight on what they'll experience over the next few years. Afterwards we had lunch at the Farmer's Market Restaurant- a Raleigh staple! Before heading back to Staunton I made my rounds at the Vet School to see as many folks as possible. My main goal was to see this guy...

...Dr. Barnes. my adviser. I hadn't told him I was coming to Raleigh so he was super surprised to see me. Our visit was brief, but it was good as always to see and chat with him. He and his wife are very special and I wouldn't be where I am today without their love and support!

This weekend we had a special visit from some friends from home- Joe and Shirley Allen. They are a very sweet couple who showed me so much love and kindness as I married into a China Grove and Concordia Lutheran Church family. They were traveling up this direction so they stopped in and had lunch with us on their way through. We met at The Depot and had a wonderful meal and conversation. It's always nice when a piece of home makes its way to Staunton.

Work has been pretty steady lately- seems like most of the large animal cases are things trying to or recently had babies. Here's one of our success stories...