{graduation}

I am incredibly proud  of Rod.  12 years of education. 12 years of studying. 12 years of early mornings, late nights. 12 years of sacrifice. He is such a determined guy. A long time ago someone told him he wouldn't make it. actually a few people doubted him. I think that just fueled his fire. Not because he wanted to prove them wrong, rather, because he wanted to prove to himself that he could. Anesthesia is one of the hardest specialities is medicine to to gain a spot in residency for, but he did! & Now he is a staff doctor. Its incredible. He often says that anyone could do what he does. Its just not so. He has achieved so much & yet remains so humble.  I feel honored to have walked these 12 years with him. It has been hard. We have had our make it or break it moments, but we made it! I know Heavenly Father was there. He gave us comfort when things at work were hard. He gave Rod confidence when he doubted himself. He gave me helping hands in the form of sisters from church & neighbors when Rod was gone for months at a time. He gave our children understanding & patience. He gave us the energy to endure the hard parts of Rod's training. I know without the gospel we could not have made it here.

I also know that without Rod's Mother & Father we would have had many many many more trials. They were ready to help in anyway they could. Truth be told books, equipment, tests, boards, they all cost a ton of money. With 5 kids, med school debt & medical/dental bills we often times would not have that extra money saved for an exam, & they would make sure we had what we needed so he could. 

& then there is my Mom & Dad. The emotional support they offered was always present. They took the kids for weeks ta  time, they visited frequently, they paid for our phone bills, gave us their volvo people! They came to all Rod's graduations. They listened to us cry. They helped when babies joined our family & my mom did a lot of our laundry. My parents love Rod as their own & that means so much to us. 

This road had so many wonderful memories. So many life long friends & lessons. 

Still hard to believe its over!