Continuing on...

Derick and I dated for 3 1/2 years. Those years were amazing, crazy and hectic! Probably what made it so crazy and hectic was nursing school. 2 of those years were consumed by it. I'm just going to say this much, if ANY relationship can survive through one partner being in nursing school... it's probably going to last, at least a while!! You may have heard a close friend or family member talk about how stressful nursing school is. Well, they probably aren't even scratching the surface of how ridiculously, insanely, unnecessarily stressful it truly is. Let's just say this much: for two years, I was completely absent from the world. If I was not in class or clinicals, I was studying with my best friend, at the time, Magan. We ate, slept, breathed, even dreamed, nursing school. Once, during the summer actually, if I remember right, I had a wild panic attack in Derick's presence. It was due to school, of course. A story all in its own. I love to hear Derick tell that one. He didn't talk about it until just recently. Guess it really freaked him out. Ha! He married me anyway!

Magan and I during school

I guess I could include our engagement story in here. We knew that I was going to finish school in December 2006. That is, if I made it through. Our life plan was that I would support Derick through the rest of his schooling, if Derick would support me and a family so that I could be a stay at home mom. So, we knew we were getting married in December. In June of the same year, I still had yet to hear a proposal! I had picked out my ring, he even ordered and had the dang thing! I told him that since I knew it was coming soon, that I wanted to be completely surprised when he decided to pop the question. Boy was I ever surprised. Derick came to visit me at my summer job. I worked 3 to midnight as a PCA at Sparks Hospital. He came and had dinner with me from time to time. Well, this night when he came something was fishy, so I asked him if he had the ring. He said no. I thought, good, because who the heck would propose in a hospital cafeteria!? As the end of the lunch hour was nearing he said, "You ruined it". "I ruined what?" "You said you wanted a surprise, but you already guessed it". I was confused. About that time he pulled the ring out of his pocket and said, "I guess I'll never be able to really surprise you. Will you marry me?" Needless to say, I was very surprised. Maybe more in a shocked kind of way, but still surprised. When I returned from my break, one of the nurses asked if I had a good break. To which I responded, "Mmm-hmm, I got engaged." The look on her face was priceless. While our engagement was nothing like I'd dreamed, it was definitely par for the course in the life and times of the Derick and Ryan. Looking back on it now, I still chuckle, but it turns out to be a pretty entertaining story. And I like it.

shortly after we got engaged.