Proud of my Sis'!

So I'm not even going to try to update about the latest happenings in Lucas Livin', but I just HAD to blog about my sister's latest creation! Sierra, my older sister, has created an AWESOMELY aDoRAblE company, called "Lollies". Check out their site at lollieslv@gmail.com. They look soo cute and yummy and are the perfect, affordable treat for any occasion! You're gonna love it!

As a short update on what's going on with us here in San Francisco, Seth is busy studying for the second round of Boards before he graduates from Dental School this June. Then, in July, he'll be starting the Orthodontics program at UCSF. So it'll be another three years in beautiful and entertaining San Francisco for us! I'm about to finish my Clinical Fellowship at CPMC Davies and am currently applying for full-time positions for after that is over and I become a fully licensed Speech-Language Pathologist!!! Exciting stuff!

Bring on the sCrUbS!

It finally happened! I officially accepted a Clinical Fellowship position at CPMC Davies Campus. It's such a relief to have the interview process over and to be able to move on with getting my license. I will start in July and be working Tues thru Saturday...I know..not ideal, but that's what you get when you work for a hospital... mediocre pay, lame schedules, limited/no holidays off, but great exposure to a variety of patients, great experience in high pressure environments, the opportunity to work with some real characters, and a GREAT addition to my resume. It'll be for 9 months, so if you were wanting to spend holidays with us, you better plan on hanging with me here in SF after I get off at 5pm :). I'm super excited to get to work with the team I did my internship with...they're awesome!

Exciting times for the Lucas family!

Seth and I have been soo busy lately, but it's all seeming to pay off this week! I will be graduating May 23 and am thus searching for a Clinical Fellowship Year placement, which is a 9 month paid position where I will be working under another speech pathologist's license. This is required in order for me to then earn my Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) and my own license to practice speech-language pathology. I've had three interviews already, and currently have one formal offer (California Pacific Medical Center-Davies Campus Inpatient Rehab) and one informal offer (Hearing and Speech Center of Northern California). I have always felt myself drawn to working with the little ones, so my first choice is the Hearing and Speech Center, where I would be able to work with children ages 19 months (approximately) and up, with even some adult patients possibly thrown in the mix. Some of my caseload would come from the auditory oral school at the Center (for children with hearing impairments) and the rest of my caseload would be from the general public that comes to the clinic. CPMC Davies is where I completed my hospital internship this past fall, and I really had such a great experience working with adult patients, focusing mostly on patients with traumatic brain injuries. It's a beautiful inpatient rehab facility and would be such a great place to work (if only they had kiddos too, it'd be perfect). So tough decisions will be made within the next week, but this is a spot I'm happy to be in despite the stress involved.

As if two amazing job offers weren't enough blessings for our little family, Seth just took the GRE today, a standardized test required for applying to orthodontics programs that he's been studying for for the past several months. He did AmAzInG!!! He only needed to get a 1200 to look good to schools, and the kid got a 1430 (710 on the math and 720 on the verbal)! I am so proud of him and so excited to finally have my husband back. I'm totally gonna get rid of those GRE study books as soon as possible since they are the guilty parties that have been stealing Seth away from me every day and night for all these months! So with awesome Boards scores AND these high GRE scores, Seth's chances of getting into the orthodontics program of his choosing just skyrocketed. We're pretty excited!

I was talking to Seth about all these blessings we've received lately and how I truly don't know what we did to deserve them. I am truly grateful to everyone who's supported our getting to where we are (family, friends, teachers, mentors) and am really excited for where we are in life right now. It's so exciting to have the world at our fingertips, and I'm looking forward to see what the next few years bring.

LifE iS gOOd!

Summer has been crazy and full of fun! We've gotten to spend the 4th of July with the Parkers in Joseph, UT, visited Jeff in Seattle, met adorable Gavin, the newest edition to the Lucas family, seen Coldplay put on an amazing concert at The Gorge, tried out the amazingly awesome "eYeClops" (thank you Ash and Kory!), hiked Half Dome aGaIN, spent time with the Klavanos, celebrate our 3rd anniversary, see two close friends get married, and see the Killers perform at the Shoreline! Now you know why I've been so busy and haven't updated the blog lately! On top of all this fun, Seth received his Boards scores back and did an amazing job (i have to say...this score proves who our kids will be getting their brains from!), I studied for and took my Comprehensive (COMPS) Exams and National Praxis Exam (both required for graduation and licensure as a speech-language pathologist), Seth started working on real-live patients in the dental clinic, I've landed a spot as an intern at CPMC hospital, and Seth got his braces off! Everything has really just fallen into place for us, and we've been so grateful for how blessed we've been. Thank you to all of you who sent us your warm thoughts and prayers while Seth and I had challenging academic requirements. We truly feel that they made all the difference and helped us get to the place we are at today. I always think that pictures say way more than words can, so I'll leave the rest to the slideshow!