Dr. Andrew Joseph Mueting

On May 26th, Andy graduated from medical school! We are so proud of him and all his hard work the past 4 years. It was a great weekend filled with time with family, friends, moving, and celebrating.  Not only was there a ceremony, but also a banquet and picnic.  It was great for us to see other DMU students and their families and hear about their future residencies and moving plans.

Andy with Elton and Eric - friends and lab partners through it all. Eric is also in the Rural Medicine program with Andy



Our parents joined us at the banquet on Friday night.

Paul, Keri, Mom with us at the cermony

Eddie, Jess, and Hudson came too!  Marie and Hudson had a great time entertaining each other during the long ceremony.

Ready to cheer her daddy on!  Marie & I went right up to the stage when Andy walked on and was hooded as Dr.
It was a great moment for our family.



Mueting Family minus Nathan



Don and Jean made the trip to help us celebrate as well.
Thanks to Don and Joe for all the pictures - it seems my hands were too full to capture any pictures during the weekend!

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We were so thankful for all our visitors who not only gave up their Memorial Day weekend but also helped us celebrate Andy's accomplishment AND helped us load the U-Haul, clean the apartment, pack the cars, and unpack all the vehicles.  We are truly blessed with amazing family and friends.

Good Bye Des Moines

Way back when Andy started the medical school process, I never thought we would end up in Des Moines. When he was accepted into DMU and awarded the Rural Family Med Scholarship, I told him I would move away from our families for 4 years but that was it...then he needed to take me back to them as soon as he graduated.

Now here we are - 4 years later at his graduation weekend and he has kept his promise...who knew I would be so sad to leave?

Des Moines has been an absolute adventure for us. So much has changed in our lives since living here... Andy, Charlie, and I moved here in the middle of the night with our high school cars, hand-me-down canoe, and not much else. We bought our first home and completed as many do-it-yourself projects as possible. Fast forward 4 years and we are leaving Des Moines with an older Charlie, more reliable cars, a lot of debt, a nearly 3 year old Marie, and a little (big) guy on the way.

This was such an important move for us. Andy & I were forced to completely rely on each other. With no family within 4 hours, we learned how to handle what life threw at us on our own while trying to maintain and strengthen our marriage and family. Whether it was a broken down car, screaming baby in the middle of the night, or sucking water out of our basement at 4 a.m.- we figured it out together.

I will always be so thankful for these years in Des Moines. Although Andy was very busy with school, he was able to excel in his education here while continuing to be such a present and amazing dad and husband. I had a flexible job that kept us fed and gave me some life-long friends, too. We took advantage of living in a city and all it has to offer.

Marie with "Sweetie"

We are leaving some friends and neighbors who have made these 4 years much easier on us. Whether it was watching Charlie, helping us solve a problem, babysitting Marie, or just chatting about our day in our yards - I will never forget how comforting and helpful it was to have such great friends right across the street. They really made our neighborhood a home.

Marie, Gabe, Lexi, and Sweetie

Then there is Marie's daycare. I have forced myself to be as involved as possible in this small center and it has been an amazing experience. I have seen her teachers in each class fall in love with her, teach her, nurture her, and guide her. I am so grateful for each of them and know how blessed we were to feel so comfortable with her daycare. It was so much more than daycare to her. She loved her teachers and friends; I know she will miss them very much. It will be hard to explain why we don't see them every day, but I am hopeful that our new daycare will give her just as much joy.

So here we are, walking away from this adventure and into a brand new one in Sioux City. It will take some getting used to, but I am very excited for many things: being closer to family, our baby boy's arrival, our new home with so much more room, a certified preschool and pre-k program right in the daycare, and new job opportunities for Andy and me.

Thanks Des Moines - it's been great!

Happy 29th!

Happy Birthday to the BEST dad and husband around!

  You are the glue that keeps us together and the positive one who picks us up when we are down...especially during crazy times like this.

Remember this?  We look so young, rested, and sun-kissed after a day of boating at Yankton :)

 This was right before we left Vermillion for Des Moines. I am looking forward to spending more days with you and our kids at Yankton, SD during residency.

 

 White Coat Ceremony - September 2008 - Just starting your journey at DMU.

Enjoying some time off from studying. I am excited for you and Charlie to enjoy more time in the fields this fall.

We love you and are so proud of your accomplishments!  

Enjoy your weekend - you deserve it.

It's official!

 Back Yard View

Front Yard View

 

Andy and I drove to Sioux City today and signed the papers - we are homeowners once again! We will be between Sioux City and Des Moines for 2 weeks and then officially in Sioux City Memorial Day Weekend...let the painting, cleaning, and fixing up begin!

On this Mother's Day...

I am feeling so many things...nervous, stressed, worried, impatient, swollen, and even a little crabby. The past few months have been so very busy and consuming it has been difficult to give my attention to the little things - until this weekend.  Andy was able to get away for a much deserved night with the guys.  This gave me the opportunity to spend some much needed time with Marie.  The only thing that would have made this weekend better for me was having my Charlie, but I know he has been getting lots of love from Grammy, Papa, and Liz. 

one last time up high in our tree

Marie and I did things our way this weekend: watched princess movies on the couch, ate too many sweets, went for a bike ride where I let her choose the path, threw too many coins in the waterfall at the mall making secret wishes, made silly faces until our stomachs hurt from laughing and swam until our fingers were all wrinkly.

It made me realize how lucky I am to have a daughter who I love to spend time with and who loves to spend time with me. She and I are very similar, yet I love to see how different we are too.  Even at this young age, she has so many qualities I admire.

So, on this Mother's Day, I am reminding myself to let go of all that is on my mind and allow myself to feel blessed, lucky, happy, content, and loved. 

Saying goodbye to the house

Moving: part 1 of 2

So this past weekend finally arrived - moving day into the apartment. It's a day that we have talked about since February so you would think that we would have been mentally prepared for it. However, after canceling and postponing the date a few times it still hit us like a truck.  

Thankfully Andy has been preparing for this for months by packing and putting things into storage so we didn't have that much to actually move - mostly big items like furniture.  Andy's parents came to assist with the move which we appreciated very much.

 

We still have a few things at the house and some cleaning to do, but we will be finishing that this week as closing day is May 14th.  Marie and Charlie spent time together among the chaos napping, playing outside, and doing puzzles. 

 One last shot of Charlie in his yard.

 3 of the vehicles loaded to the brim for a trip to the apartment

 Marie and Charlie playing "follow the leader" around their yard

 Ice Cream at Snookies - one last treat for Charlie who is staying with Joe & Karen in Spencer for the next month - no puppies allowed at the apartment.  This was a hard goodbye for us all - the longest amount of time we will have ever been away from our bud.

So now we are at the apartment - swimming, playing on the play set, and pretending it's a "hotel" that we are staying in until our "big house" is ready in Sioux City.  This seems to make sense to Marie but it is still bothering her a bit. She has handled it very well.  

Tonight we were at the apartment when Marie mentioned that her friend, "Giraffe," is sad because he wants to go home and not stay in the apartment.  That was a bit heart-breaking to hear.  I can only imagine what is going through her little head about all these changes when I  know how hard it has been for me to get through it so far. Thankfully we are only in the apartment for about 1 month and then off to Sioux City.