Kory and Culture

Last weekend, Levi and I had a blast! Our friend Kory came to stay with us, and we went to arts and music festivals. It was great timing since Levi just found out that he didn't get the job the day before Kory came. For those of you who don't know Kory, he was in our wedding and he and Levi have been friends basically forever. That means that the time Levi got to spend with him last weekend was not only fun, but also comforting and refreshing in light of the job news. 

Kory stayed with us on his way to Enid, where he will be stationed at Vance Air Force Base. He's actually training to be a pilot in the Navy, but they sent him there to learn to fly. After about a decade of him and Levi living in different states, I'm glad they're together again.

Levi and Kory being silly on our wedding day

The news

For those of you who have been anxiously awaiting a post about Levi's job, here's the news: he didn't get it. We're pretty bummed, but after working to become the best candidate possible for the last year, Levi's enjoying a short breather. Although he's greatly disappointed, a burden has been lifted and he's allowing himself a break before jumping back on the wagon.

The question is, where do we go from here? We know God has a plan for us in all of this; we're just not sure what that is yet. No other fire departments are hiring right now, so that's not really an option. Levi's planning to look in to getting his paramedic certification, which is a two-year associate's degree. With him working nights and classes being offered during the day, we're not sure if this plan will work, but it's worth considering.

Most of all, thanks for all your prayers and support of Levi during this entire process. It made the waiting, testing and ultimate disappointment bearable. Please continue to pray for us as we figure out what's next.

The Big Day

Tomorrow is Levi's final interview with the Norman Fire Department and he should know his fate by Thursday (hopefully!). Neither of us can believe finality is headed our way after months and months of waiting and testing. If you think of him tomorrow around 2:20, say a little prayer!

Congrats to the future Stewards!

Yesterday, I threw a bridal shower for my friend Ann. I'll be the first to tell you that I don't enjoy event planning and struggled at times to plan my own wedding, but I think Ann's shower turned out pretty great. You be the judge:

Crass Crises

Levi is winding up his second week on the streets in an ambulance and I must say he is racking up quite the story list. With him working nights and me days, our time together (about 30 min/day) mostly consists of a few cuddles and a run-down of the calls he got the night before. I've been shocked to learn that about half of the calls he's gotten have been completely unnecessary. Feel free to enjoy some of the ridiculousness as I have:

• a man calls 911 because he has a headache and ran out of aspirin
• a man calls 911 to pick up his mentally-ill wife who keeps calling out his name so he can get some sleep
• a man calls 911 because the bandaids from his surgery incisions came off
• a woman calls 911 because her blood pressure is low but her bp seems normal when the ambulance arrives (she still wants to go to the hospital)

Despite the understandable frustration of these needless calls, Levi has really been enjoying his job. In fact, he loves it. Here are some more exciting things he's encountered:

• a man got his hand caught in a vice and the bone was showing
• 3 attempted suicides
• 2 overdoses
• getting to speak Spanish to a woman who knew no English (he's still waiting to get a German-speaking patient)

And I'm sure the list will continue....