Welcome.

Even though I've lived in Southern California all my life, I've never been to Pomona, California, a mere two hours away in the south-easterly direction. I think we passed by it when my family drove to Texas several years ago, but my memory does not serve me well in remembering anything about it except a freeway and a lot of bridges.

If you haven't heard already, Franco was accepted to Western University of Health Sciences, School of Optometry in Pomona, California starting August 1.  If you were in the general 500-mile vicinity on Friday around 1:30 p.m. you may have heard me shout in exclamation after Franco called me to tell me the news. And news it was! I'll share a few details if any of you are curious.

To provide a little background, these are the events which occurred that led up to last Friday:

*Franco visited the optometrist when he was 11 years old and decided he wanted to be an eye doctor when he grew up
*Junior High Graduation, High School graduation, a 2-year mission, and 6 years of undergrad with two Bachelors degrees later (almost, he graduates in May), Franco studied hard and long (like almost two years) and took the Optometry Admissions Test (like the dreaded MCAT or DAT) last January
*He applied to nine schools of optometry all over the United States
*Started his last semester at CSUCI and waited to hear back from said schools
*A few weeks ago, after going to the temple together one night, he got an email from Western U to come for an interview (An interview is basically a we-want-to-meet-you type of thing, and they generally let you know by mail a couple of weeks post-interview if you've been accepted or not)
*Franco stayed in a hotel the night before the interview and went to the interview on Friday morning

That brings us up to the interview. Let me just say, Franco has landed every job interview he's ever had, and he's had many. I knew he'd nail it. He's always calm, collected, and has a manner of speaking which readily catches the listener's attention. And he's funny and laid-back, so I had no doubt he'd win over whomever would be interviewing him.

Man, did I underestimate him. They accepted him on the spot. Franco doesn't like me to say it was "on the spot", but that's what it was! He's in an empty room completing a survey and in walks one of the admissions people. She says she remembers his application (one out of 600) and wants to let him know that he's been accepted, then hands him an acceptance letter with his name right there. That doesn't happen very often, I don't think. Miracle, I call it. He calls me minutes later as he's heading back to the car.

Needless to say, I was stunned but also incredibly humbled. You may remember that I had mentioned that we were seriously considering other places much farther away than Pomona, not because we were eager to move away, but because California schools are so competitive--we really didn't think we had a good chance to get into one of them. What little faith I had.

This experience had me on my knees immediately after hanging up with Franco, and as soon as he got back into town, we prayed again together. We know it was because of our prayers and the prayers on our behalf that this great blessing came into our lives. Thank you, family and friends, for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We are eternally indebted to you! We knew 2011 would bring many new challenges and changes for our family, and it is humbling to see so many people behind us supporting us through it all.

So, what now? I've never moved away from Ventura County in all my life. I don't know the first thing about moving or finding a place to live or going to a new ward at church. I have a lot to learn. But I'll stop here. Maybe I'll chronicle some of the experiences I have as I'm adjusting to this new chapter in our lives. Heaven knows I'll need help!

Thanks again for your love and friendship, and for reading, =)

xoxo annie