match day.

CASPR MATCH ANNOUNCEMENT:

the ultimate day for any medical student is to see where they match for residency. or if they match for residency.

there has been so much happening in the davidson household over the past two months. between figuring out how to take care of our little ella rose and trying to predict and plan where residency is going to take us, there is no time for the computer.

match is SO stressful. 

after jumping over the hurdle of passing three sets of boards & surviving interview week, then there is match. 

if you don't match, you have to wait a whole year to try again - with no job & student loan payments on a couple hundred grand. and then you enter the match pool with next year's class, trying to explain to programs why you didn't succeed in the prior year, which snowballs the shortage. basically there is a shortage of residency positions. in round numbers, about half of those 100 students who scramble this year in the US will not get a residency. there are about 500 students total trying to match. with those odds, it is imperative that the students choose the right programs in their "league" in which to pursue so that they have the best chance of being chosen by that program for an open position. each program has between one and four open spots.

this was jack's greatest question mark: what were the right programs for him? where would he be the best fit? 

his number one choice, was of course, scripps mercy in san diego. the only problem for us was that it is an extremely competitive program. just a few of the reasons everyone wants it is because it's:

• on the west coast {better chance of getting a job on the west coast after residency}
• at a high powered hospital with a stellar reputation
• has an amazing residency director and team
• three of the four positions offer their third year at a kaiser {top training and networking}
• ...and let's be honest... is in san diego.

something that sweetened the deal even further for us is that jack is born and raised in san diego. all of his family is there. it's where we met and fell in love.

we basically accepted that we wouldn't get this spot because it is so sought after by the top students in the country. we figured out that the stars didn't align to be matched in washington state near my family {sob}, and the chances of him getting a place in san diego were just way too competitive to get excited about. instead of being picky & spoiled by counting on the perfect program near family in a place we wanted to live, we shifted our focus to getting the best program we could with great training - location aside. it was just three years, right?

fast forward to the morning of match. we decided to make a morning of it and head to our little pinecone cafe up the street to log in and see where we were going. of course it's like a clown car to get all of us out of the house in the morning. had to time changing & feeding ella with her morning nap, get myself ready, and her carseat & bag together...well, we finally got to the cafe at 8am {match announcements are at 8...we planned to be there a half hour earlier to get settled and connected to internet}. of course, we sit down and get no cell reception on the ipad. then our phones weren't getting bars of service either and the wifi was down. ughhhH! we were about to leave and finally we got enough cell phone bars on my iphone and logged in. our hearts were pounding in our chests. jack made me click on the match tab and there it was:

ahhhhh!!! tears of joy. jack had me log in and out a few times to make sure it wasn't a mistake. suddenly all the worries of a cross country move to a place with no network melted away. it started sinking in that jack got matched at one of the most coveted residencies in the country! we are still pinching ourselves two days later!! GOD IS SO GOOD you guys!

{family portrait right after we read the results. we were too crazy excited to get out of the house for makeup or to get dressed! ella was so excited, she fell asleep haha.}

we are going back to san diego!! ella and i will have jack's family while jack is sooo busy at the hospital. we have a church with a network of new christian moms and their babies. our third year will be at the kaiser in ontario/fontana. we will move about two hours northeast of san diego and that will be a super fun adventure, too!

we are so thankful for our supportive friends and family through this process. i'm really sad to be leaving my wa family, but i know this is God's plan for us. we did a lot of praying for His will and plan for our family and this is where He lead us. He opened doors that we thought could never be opened.

ok, ella is awake! gotta go feed my little biscuit!

baby showers.

over the last few weekends, my husband's family {san diego} and my family {washington} threw two separate baby showers in each location for us! i am completely overwhelmed by the amount of love and support that we were shown. this little baby lady is so anticipated, loved & spoiled already. 

 | washington shower : |

the lovely hostesses, diana & teagan. 

my mom. 

i have the prettiest girlfriends.

 the cutest littles, reece & rylee.

i cannot express my appreciation for homemade blankets! this was hand crocheted by diana's friend's mother. i treasure it!

diana made me baby's first pillow & a matching quilt. literally dying.  

hand crocheted snuggly blanket from rachel. just a little in love haha.

 | san diego shower : |

my beautiful cake!

game winners!

so many cute gifts from my hubby's family!

my mother in law always has the cutest shoes haha.

my beautiful mother in law noris, and myself.

a gigantic thank you to everyone who came, and also to those that were with us in spirit. 

all the well wishes {& thoughtful gifts of course} have made us feel more prepared to take this next step in our lives. 

...ps | yes i did wear the same dress to both occasions, oops.  

these showers were really special to me because among other reasons, i'd never had a shower before. jack and i had a one month engagement because of his medical school journey, and with such short timing, we passed on a lot of the traditional wedding festivities that take place during a normal engagement. so, i really wanted to soak in this experience. i had put sooo much thought into what i was going to wear to these events. i shopped in advance for outfits and had them all set two weeks prior. 

well, i tried on the dress i was going to wear to my san diego shower the night before, and...

it. didn't. freaking. fit anymore. 

of course i turned into a weeping puddle of blubber & tears. my sweet mother in law and hubby took me shopping at eight o'clock at night and i miraculously found the only dress in the whole mall that fit my giant whale body.

{my two requirements were: 1. that it needed sleeves to cover my preggo arms, and 2. it needed to be long to cover my swollen legs} 

so...a huge thank you to my mother in law for saving the day. well, days {both my showers}, because i figured why not wear it to both? it fit and was cozy. the dress is free people and it is not maternity, but i think it's really pretty!

Dover Court.

Every time we visit San Diego, our beach cruisers always end up gravitating towards the Court where we  met as next door neighbors.

Dover Court.

{Looking North towards Pacific Beach & La Jolla.}

I lived at 718, and he was next door at 722. Located in South Mission Beach, two houses in from sand and ocean.

{On my old fence, looking west towards the beach.}

 {718 Dover...my old bedroom window on the right.}

{Jack's old entry door in the middle of the picture, lower floor of 722 next to my bedroom window.} 

I was in my junior year of college at the University of San Diego. He was studying microbiology at San Diego State University.  I sort of use the term "studying" loosely...we were focusing on the investment in a different part of our future...each other. And friends. I think that is one of the most important parts about college, actually. Learning to balance it all. Don't get me wrong...we did spend several all nighters in the library together that year...but mostly because we had to. Studying was not going to happen at home. Work hard, play hard...and we did it well. 

Dover Court was was Sept-May dorms at the beach. Students from colleges all around came down to live with roommates in the cute but equally run down bungalows lining the boardwalk. Priorities included: Surfing. Laying out. Running. Playing volleyball. Rollerblading. Bike riding. Laying out. Surfing. Laying out. Priorities did not include: Eating. Studying {I did make 99.9% of my classes, though!}. Seeing MTV filming the latest reality show next door wasn't really big news. And neither was coming home to a complete stranger sleeping on your couch.

My first memory of Jack would be seeing him walk by my door carrying his surf board towards the beach. He was in an all black tank top and board shorts and all I could think was: He. Is. So. Cute.

Later that night, my roommate Ashley was doing my hair & makeup in our bathroom for a party later. Jack was unusually interested. And wanted to join us later. I wondered why.

Dover is also where I snagged my dream internship at the {imo} best boutique tax firm in all of San Diego, which turned into my dream job after I graduated. So, although after living at the beach for a year felt almost as if I had survived a war {exhaustion from always being on the go, heading to a party, working out, getting to class, working my hostess job to pay the rent-which I would not have been able to do without my family's help}, I wouldn't give up that experience for anything. I still am in contact and love almost every friend I made on Dover Court, and I ended up marrying my next door neighbor. Yes, living here probably did play a large role in the only C I earned in my college career {Operations Management...what even IS that?}, but it was beyond worth it. Hands down, Dover Court was epic.

Some other fun facts:

Jack's parents lived on Dover Court as newlyweds.

Dover Court is the only reason I know how to parallel park like a champion...in any vehicle.

Dover Court is where Jack and I discovered that we have the same birthday. 8.3.1984. It was all over from there...why fight destiny?

Dover Court is where my husband proposed to me {years later}:

{Moments after the proposal. Jack's Dad was hiding with a camera to catch our faces...so that's what the growing crowd on the boardwalk was doing.}

Here's to many more of our generations having memories on Dover. I wouldn't trade mine for the world.