I Do

Jeremy and I were married on the beach in Antigua at the Sandals Resort on Saturday, June 13, 2009 at 5:00pm. It was everything we had hoped it would be. We could not be more excited to be starting our lives together as husband and wife.

We are looking forward to celebrating with our family and friends on Saturday, June 27th at our reception.

Getting close

Well in 8 days we will be getting on a plane headed for Antigua and in 11 days I will be standing on a beautiful beach saying my vows to Mr. Elliott. I am so very excited to be marrying the love of my life.

I have spent the past five years getting to know him better, making memories with him, and falling more in love with him each day. I am excited to start my life with Jeremy and grow old with him. He is all I could ever hope for in a husband. He is going to make a wonderful husband and an even better father to our children.

I couldn't be more excited for this time in our lives and for all of the wonderful people that love us and support us, thank you all so very much.

I have included two of my favorite engagement pictures so far. I still have not received the disc with all of our pictures but thought I would post a few so you could see our photographer Katie Gillespie's work. I will get engagement and wedding pictures up as soon as possible when we get back.

God bless each of you!

The Soon-To-Be..... Mrs. Andrea Elliott

Finished with school FOREVER!!!

I graduated on Friday May 15th at 1:30pm with my Masters in Speech Pathology. It was a great day filled with family and friends. I will begin my job for the Springfield Public Schools on August 13th.

I just found out that I will be at Cowden and Holland Elementaries. I will have around 35 or so children at Cowden. Most of these children will either be in one of the district programs for the district meaning that the kids will either have autism or mental retardation. I will be working with a few children that are nonverbal and some that are very high functioning. I will have around 6-8 children at Holland which is where I did my externship. These children will more than likely be kindergarten students either with a speech or language problem.

I am very anxious but excited to start my career working with children. I am hoping to be a nanny over the summer to make some extra money and to start helping pay for the bills again. I have had a semester doing my externships with no pay so I am ready to make some money. I hope everyone enjoys the summer as much as I will. I am planning to spend lots of time with my family, going to the lake, going to Chiefs/Cardinals/Royals games, and getting married. Thanks to everyone for all of the support and encouragement over the past two years of grad school. I am sure glad the ride is over!!

And let the ceremony begin.....

I am graduating on Friday, May 15th at 1:30pm with my Master of Science in Speech Pathology. I could not be more excited to be done with school for GOOD!!! This is my second college graduation and the last! Both of my externships are completed and paperwork turned in so it really is going to happen. It is a very exciting time in my life and I am ready for the real world. Now the only worry I have left is praying that I don't trip in my heels while walking up to accept my diploma. ha! Have a great weekend!

Two weeks left...

Well I have only two more weeks left at the nursing home. It has been a great experience but I am ready for it to be over. I graduate on May 15th at 1:30pm for the second time. I AM THRILLED to be almost finished with my education. I have now been in school for 19 years straight including elementary, middle, high school, four years of Bachelors work, and now two years for my Masters.

We are also getting super excited for our upcoming wedding. June 13th will be here before we know it. I am ready for school to be over, start my life with the love of my life, and begin a new job that I know I will love!

Hope everyone is doing great.

P.S. I love the warm weather......come on Summer!!!

Soooo happy!

Well just wanted to write a quick update. I know it has been a while since I have written on my blog. Yesterday and today have been good days and I am very happy.

Yesterday I met with my research advisor, who is also one of my favorite teachers from graduate school, and we put the finishing touches on my research project. As of yesterday at 4:45pm, my project is on the department head's desk and complete. I no longer have to make edits, design a chart, or read that paper anymore. My paper ended up being around 33 pages in length, and I am proud of the finished product.

Today I got off work from the nursing home and had six missed calls and a text message from my sister saying to call her asap. She has been checking up on my praxis scores to see if they are available yet. Today, I received my scores and as far as I can tell I passed. For the test I took for speech pathology in the state of Missouri, you need a 600 to pass and I got a 620. I am very surprised I passed because it was one of the hardest test I have taken in a long time.

Well I have had two great days to the start of this week. I have three days left to work this week and then it is going to be a fun weekend with family and friends. My sister, Brandon, Jeremy, and I will all be going out on Friday night for a good friend's 22nd birthday bash and Saturday we will be walking to Rock N Ribs from my sister and Brandon's house. They live just a few blocks from Bass Pro so it should be fun! I hope everyone is doing well.

Nursing Home Experience

Well I have been in the nursing home a little over a week now for my medical externship. I have a great supervisor and a bunch of sweet old people to work with, but I can tell you that it is definitely not my thing. I am trying to stay positive and remind myself daily that I just have to get through these next 8 weeks and it will all be over. I cannot see myself ever working in the nursing home. It takes a special person to work with that population. I am very excited that I have already gotten a job in the school system. Please pray for me and these new experiences that I face daily in my medical placement. Thanks and have a good week.