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It's been a long road with lots of twists and turns since 1989, but thank the Lord, it keeps getting better!
After 3 years and at least 6 changes in my major at U of A, I came back home and back to reality,
I finally decided on Chemistry/pre-med (sort-of) and graduated in 1995. I chickened out on going to med school, however, and worked as a chemist at Shearwater Polymers. That was a life-changing decision - one which was influenced by God, because that's where I met Emily, the woman who would change my life. The decision to ask her to marry me was the first in a series of choices to "take the plunge" that still continues.
Of course, I floundered around again - quitting my job to go back to school to get a degree in studio art. I was apparently running away from my true calling, but Emily was more directed and got accepted to med school in Mobile.
Being an artist was not for me. After working in a frame shop for just 3 weeks, I got a job managing (3 employees) an environmental testing lab in Mobile. It took three years, but I finally overcame self-doubt just enough to apply to med school.
And how time has flown since then!
We had four children while one of us was either in med school or residency and have since added one more - five kids in five years!
And that's a story in itself. We struggled with the ups and downs of fertility treatments before having our twin sons. Then our first daughter was a complete suprise. God brought me together with the birth mother while on my OB rotation at Huntsville Hospital, and I brought baby Vivian home the next day! She is such a blessing to our home.
We brought our second daughter (and oldest child) Rebecca home from China at 6 1/2 years of age. She is also an amazing little girl. The challenges of raising her have been great, but God is showing His grace every day in her progress.
Finally, we had a complete suprise with our last daughter, Ellen, who was made the natural way.
Now we live in Athens and I've been practicing as a family doctor since August '08. Emily stays home with the children.
It's tough being in the "real world" in a lot of ways, but still very rewarding. I thank God for all the challenges I've faced, because through them I've gained so much in the last twenty years. TWENTY YEARS?!?
