Hard Work, and Blessings

One night Justin opened up an e-mail with a suprised and curious look on his face.

When I asked him what was up, he told me the e-mailed explained he was the winner of another award this year, he just hadn`t known about it, or seen it coming.

The next day I recieved a message from him while he was at school saying he had good news when he came home. =)

Later that night when he arrived home, we had company, so we weren`t able to fully celebrate what we were being given... Still, Justin quietly handed me an envelope, which inside I read he was being awarded for his excellence in academic standing, patient care, humanitarian work, personal ethics, and more! The reward for being this awesome? Just $3,000...!

I couldn`t believe my eyes. And on the other hand, I wasn`t suprised in the least bit. Every ounce of my heart was bursting with pride and happiness for him. It thrills me to see him reccognized for all that he does, all that he is, and all that he stands for. I have come to find out just how prestigious this award is, and I know without any doubt it was hard earned and recieved by exactly the right person.  

We were invited to attend the Award and White Coat Ceremony for a third time. And once again, my heart was busting with happiness and pride for my husband. It`s easy for me to talk about him and his acheivements, but if you were to ask Justin, he wouldn`t be taking any of the credit.

He would only tell you these things come from hard work and blessings.

I can definitely vouch for the hard work. Every so often there will be little things about my husband that are unique to him, and endearing to me. Like the way I open his lunch pale time and time again to find his bag of vegetables in untouched. =)

Justin is constantly asking me to get him new deoderant at the store, and I am always shocked by how fast he went through the last tube! He easily goes through 3 before I go through my 1. Lately when I am folding laundry and putting it away, I will notice that he has a hole in the exact same place on each sock. Right on the heel. Between the deoderant and the holes in his socks, I can only determine one thing: that each and every day when his feet hit the ground, HE IS RUNNING.

Running to accomplish. Running to work hard. Running to do his best. And Running to give his all. I can vouch that he does exactly that every day.

I also know Justin has a deep understanding of where our blessings truly come from, and the partnership there that requires both to do their part.

Here are a few pictures from the Award Ceremony that night. I am sorry some are a little blurry. After Justin recieved his award it was time for the first year students to receive their white coats. Don`t get us wrong, we know what a special achievement this is for them, but we have sat through 3 years worth of white coat ceremonies, and are fully aware of how long and well, (boring) they can be. So when Justin leaned over and asked me if I wanted to take off and go out to dinner with him, it was like our own little romantic getaway moment from the movies!

And, it was a no brainer! =)

We took off to dinner, and were finally able to properly celebrate this special award, special night, and special guy.

A HUGE THANKS to Arlee for graciously and lovingly watching our children for us!