Spa Night

Waiting for the mask to harden
So fresh and so clean-clean

A few weeks ago Lauren and I were both fairly stressed out. We were planning a move, worrying about medical school, and just ready for a break, so for our date of the week Lauren suggested "Spa Night." Now don't picture us wrapped up in seaweed and covered in mud, because that's not what happened. We both put on a "mask" and then watched a movie. I don't remember much about the movie because Lauren was giving me a foot rub. So spa night was a smashing success. Be warned, I am taking the names of those who are laughing at me or calling me a whoopsie.

Um, Change of Plans...

On Saturday the 23rd I opened the mailbox and discovered a letter from the U of U admissions office. My heart sank, because it was only a letter and not a packet, but then I thought, why would they be sending us anything unless it was an acceptance letter? After all, we are on the alternate list. I ran inside and called Erik frantically three times, but he didn't answer (being at work was no excuse - what if I was bleeding to death?). Finally I just texted him the news and waited. When he clued in, he paced around at work for a while, and then finally gave up and pedaled his little heart out home. He was shaking so badly I almost offered to open the envelope for him, but I already knew the answer to that one. As I'm sure you've guessed by the fact that I'm even posting this, we got in!! I didn't realize until then how much I didn't want to move to Missouri, because I'd been trying to be so supportive and see the positive. We'll be close to family, I get to student teach and graduate in December, I get to walk at my graduation, we'll still have mountains so I know which way is north, I don't have to have a baby far away from everyone, our move will only take a day or so instead of a week, med school is half the cost... can you tell I'm excited? I really was ok with Missouri, we all were, but we're so much happier about SLC. The first thing we did was to get down on our knees and thank God for this blessing. We put this into his hands a long time ago, and he has answered our prayers and reaffirmed our faith in him. He truly is a loving Father; we know that he would have taken care of us wherever we went. We've been humbled by the knowledge that there were others more deserving of admission. The joke around the Merkley house is that Kathy was praying us in to the U, and it looks like it worked. Chris admonished her that you can't make deals with the Lord, but I don't think she'll believe him now! Thank you all again for your prayers and support - we know they've helped buoy us up when things got difficult. And hey, if you know of any housing in SLC, give us a call!



We had to throw this picture in to alarm sports fans. Don't worry, Erik will never support U of U athletics. He's a Cougar fan til he dies. However, we will support the U of U medical department. Remember that previous blog title that said, "We Hate the U of U"? Yeah, we take it back.

Missouri Bound

For those of you who haven't heard yet, Erik was accepted at a med school in Kirksville Missouri! It's called A.T. Still University, and it's way out in the boonies. The nearest airport is two hours away in Kansas City. I have never lived that far from civilization before. It should be a good experience for me. It'll also be a good experience for our wallet: the cost of living there is as cheap or cheaper than Logan, and shopping options are definitely meager. WalMart is probably the biggest thing to hit that town since the university was built back in the late 1800's. We're both a little nervous to move somewhere completely unfamiliar and distant from family, but it should be a fun adventure. It's only an hour or so from Nauvoo - which is our closest temple - and there are tons of state parks nearby. When Erik interviewed out there, he drove past all sorts of church landmarks like Adam-ondi-omen (sp?). There are a lot of LDS students out there, and there's even an Institute class and LDSSA. Everyone we've talked to loves it out there, which is reassuring. School starts the latter part of August, so we need to get going on finding a place to live. The hard part is that we've had contact with the U of U lately, and they're reviewing Erik's file and asking him questions about his plans. We'd like to think that means he could be accepted there, but we don't dare plan on it or delay plans for Missouri. What a frustrating process this is! We'd like to stay in Utah, especially because I have a student teaching placement in SLC, but who knows what'll happen. We're just thrilled that Erik was accepted and that we have a viable option for this fall. Thanks for all your prayers and support on our behalf!