Feelin Warm and Fuzzy

The countdown has been running, and It's down to the last TWO WEEKS before we get to go home to Utah! Luckily, Evan's brother Stephen is getting married in Logan, so we'll get to see BOTH SIDES of the family! Meanwhile, our school schedules are absolutely PACKED with tests and practicals. It's a bit stressful, but at least we get an awesome prize at the end of the two weeks, wouldn't ya say? 

Besides getting to see our family, and see Stephen and Bryndel be sealed forever {which is awesome, because we love Bryndel and are so excited she's going to be part of our family}, we get to be in Logan for Scotlin's birthday! Last year, I was sure that it would be years before we'd get to visit him on his birthday, but I was wrong! And very fittingly, his birthday is ON THANKSGIVING! We have so many reasons to be thankful for Scotlin and our FOREVER FAMILY!!!

Also during our trip, we get to spend time with the two oldest of my four younger brothers that are leaving on their MISSIONS on November 30th! Evan is going to Alabama and Ben is going to Washington, DC. I'm so proud of them, and they're both going to be excellent in their search for people to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with! 

 I've been laughing this week while all my friends and family back home are posting pictures of the SNOW in Utah!! I shouldn't though, because the Midwest is supposed to get slammed this winter and they'll all be laughing at me. But for now, I'm enjoying the jacket-weather and taking long walks while taking pictures of the beautiful fall colors!

The sky turned out really pretty in this one...I especially love how the flash illuminated the road sign behind us.

This is right next to our house which is --> direction.

And later that night, like the good students we are, we went to school and studied. Look at how enthusiastic Evan is...he really loves school!

And last-but-should-be-first are our amazing friends Devin and Shanna! We cuddled up and watched Hocus Pocus for Halloween! It was terrific, but I hope they don't care I posted this picture...they didn't even know I was gonna take it.

I know a lot of people feel a change as the end of the year draws nearer. I know that for me I remember, more frequently, to be grateful and to look for joy in my life. I know Evan and I are where Heavenly Father needs us to be, and I'm grateful to serve Him and allow His spirit to be with me. Happy November everyone!

Workin' Our Hiney's Off

Our schedule, you ask? C-R-A-Z-Y. No room to breathe, no vacations, no fresh air, no room for failure, no money-even if we did want to get away, and no real time together. We are loving it!

A couple weeks in when there was no end in sight (c'mon, Ev's looking at at least 4 years of residency, so I've got 8 more years of this) I called home-California home- and Dad Lytle answered the phone. I casually mentioned our lovely schedule and how "I knew it would be hard...I just didn't know it would be this hard". Then came his perfect advice: "Whit, you've got your eyes at the bottom of the boat. You need to look up and fix your eyes on the horizon or you're gonna make your self sick". Ever the fisherman, Dad taught me such an important lesson in a few words. They keep coming back to me, too, as I complain that I never see my husband and that we're never gonna be done with med school. I need to keep a larger perspective that will allow me to see this little moment in the real picture. And I think as Ev and I learn to do this together, we'll grow together.

Now, sadly, I've misplaced my camara, but my next post (hopefully in a couple days) will have pictures of my cute house and of the Halloween blocks I made for the upcoming holiday! Yay!!

Misery...I mean Missouri

Yeah yeah, I'm really excited that Evan got accepted but it's far away and it was -25 when he went there in January...not my kind of weather. But the newest news in the lives of Evan and Whitney: Evan's not starting medical school til August 2011. We decided to stay in Logan for another year so that I can finish my degree in Exercise Science to help my chances of getting a job once we move. It's the smart decision, we think, and it's been a long process deciding what's going to take place in our near future. We're always willing to bend and manipulate our plans to accommodate what Heavenly Father has in store for us (whether we like it or not), so if something else comes up, we'll change our plans again.
I just want to say again how blessed we are. We have an angel for a son and the most amazing family and friends to support us; we have an extremely happy marriage and a nice apartment; we're both able to work and get an education (a lot of people can't)and we have a knowledge of the gospel that helps us get out of bed every morning and want to keep on living. I love my life!

ACCEPTANCE!!!

I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to post really quick about Evan's acceptance to A. T. Still University in Kirksville, Missouri!!! This just happens to be the same school that my OBGYN, Dr. Horsley graduated from, as well as the doctor that Evan job-shadowed. He interviewed at the beginning of January and we found out this last week that they wanted him. A.T. Still is a private university (which means tuition is expensive) and the campus in Missouri is called the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. The interesting thing about this school is that it's in a really small town, so their students move away for the 3rd and 4th years to do rotations, and we'd be able to move back to Logan in 2012. If everything works out, I'll be taking two years off from school and when we move back, I'll finish my last semester at USU. We are still waiting to hear back from other schools, so nothing's set in stone yet, but I just had to share the news!