a hearty huzzah!

Earlier in our marriage Ryan and I spend one very miserable semester where we were both working full time and going to school full time. Since that proved to be a horrible thing to do, Ryan very generously dedicated himself to being the sole bread winner so that I could quit my job and finish up my schooling as fast as possible. A few minor delays (such as moving to Georgia and having a baby) set me back some, but I finally graduated about a year and a half ago.

The original plan had been for me to start working as soon as I was done so that Ryan could go back to school and finish up fast. At that point though we had no idea we would have Ava or that Ryan would be deployed for nearly a year - or that he'd get a job offer we couldn't refuse when he came home either.

Fast forward to today, Ryan has spent the last year working full time and schooling full time. Despite changing jobs, moving to Hawaii (and losing a textbook in the process), working odd hours, and maintaining a surprisingly fair amount of contact with his family he's been able to excel in his courses, and yesterday morning (after working a full 12 hour graveyard shift) he took his last two finals of the semester - thus completing the requirements for his Associates Degree. He is thrilled to be done (at least for the summer), and Ava and I are thrilled at the prospect of more time together.