#3--It's Almost THE Weekend!

Right now, Jonathan is taking his final here in Freeport.  He has studied really well this week and I'm actually not nervous for him at all.  I'm just ready for him to be done and have something to show for all his hard work this semester.  Pray for him, though.  This test is 4 grueling hours long.  Parts of it are over new material and parts of it are comprehensive.  Thanks to all of you who sent prayers or sweet notes his way this week.  They are SO very appreciated!  Today, I myself am literally sitting around waiting for him to be done.  The bags are packed, the kitchen is cleaned and empty, the floors are mopped and swept, the travel documents are organized, and we are ready to go!  I am really excited for him to get home because it means our 6 week vacation will have officially begun!  But for now, here's #3 in our little countdown:

What I Will Miss About Freeport #3-
Vedant!  Vedant has become a part of our little close knit group here in Freeport.  I started hearing his name towards the beginning of this whole Freeport experience when he became a part of Jonathan and Matt's little study group.  He quickly evolved from study buddy to true friend and we are so grateful to have met him!  Vedant is part of the group here in Freeport that will be going to St. Maarten in December instead of Dominica (he is an American University in the Caribbean student).  We will miss him dearly, and wish him all the best in St. Maarten and in his future endeavors.  He will actually be leaving on Saturday (lucky dog), so Jonathan and I and Matt and Michelle will be seeing him off at the airport.  It'll probably be a really long time before we get to see him again.  We are so happy that Mara and Fatema and Matt and Conrad (and many others) will be accompanying us to Dominica, but it truly will be strange to not have Vedant around when we get there!  Vedant...we love you man!

What I'm Looking Forward to in the States #3-

I was gonna save this one for #1, but I just can't stand it anymore.  I simply MUST write about it.  I am more excited than I can probably express to get to spend time with our families.  I can't wait to see Bernice (who, by the way, is more than halfway done with chemo AND will be completely done with it BEFORE we head down to Dominica!).  I can't wait to put my arms around her and see her face!  I can't wait to see my mom and hug her and talk to her and catch her up on everything.  I can't wait for a big bear hug from my daddy.  Can't wait to spend time with Charlie and for him to see how different Jonathan is after his first semester in med school.  I know he's gonna be so proud!  I can't wait to see Patrick and Nicole!!  Skyped with them Tuesday night and it made me miss them more (if that's possible).  I hear that Granddaddy is doing REALLY well right now too, so I'm looking forward to seeing him and Helen for sure.  And again, I can't wait for him to get to see Jonathan.  I would REALLY like to find a way to get to Alabama to see my Mimol and Pa and Gammy, but I'm not sure we're gonna be able to sway it.  However, just being in the states means I'll get to talk to them more easily which is a SUPER perk in my book.  So in short, I'm just ready to be surrounded by family during the BEST time of the year.  The holidays are built for spending time with family, so I'm so blessed to be coming home during that time.  Jonathan and I will both be soaking it up as much as we can since this time next year will most likely be spent in Dominica (we might get lucky and be able to come home for a week or 2 during Christmas if we can afford it...).  For now, though, we will just be thankful that we get this time this year.  So excited to be HOME!  Even though we are literally nomads right now, HOME is wherever the people you love are!

Can you believe that we will be home in less than 80 hours?!  Ok...mind officially blown...