3. Operation
Immunization 2009
- what an experience!
Introductory rotation at
Mercy Hospital in summer ’09
- learned under some great minds
and better people
4. We initially met at KU Pharmacy School, but we
were just strangers across the room. Our first
conversation consisted of me asking Matt if
he was married. His sister was in our class and
they came and went together, had the same
last name, and sat together during class. It
was an honest mistake. Other than that, we
didn’t talk for the first two years of our 4-year
program.
5. We stood right next to each other and had no idea we’d be so close the rest of our lives.
6.
7. HOLLY
As a last hurrah before our
third year of school, we
took a float trip to the
Niangua River Oasis.The
second night Matt and I
stayed up all night, literally
until dawn, collecting
firewood, doing the hokey
pokey, and getting to know
each other around the
campfire. I was intrigued.
MATT
When I pulled up to the
campsite, I saw 4 girls putting
together a grill. One of those
girls was Holly. So I thought
to myself, “Self, all you need
is 20 seconds of insane
courage.”
That second night she figured
out quickly how cheesy I was,
when I looked into her eyes
and asked her, “Where have
you been all my life?”
11. HOLLY
I was so excited for my sister and
Ellsworth friends to meet the
boy I was crazy about, so I
dragged him all the way to
my hometown as a date to
my friend’s wedding. I
overheard Mindy introduce
him as my boyfriend, which
was a first for our
relationship. I guess it
became official at that point.
MATT
I wanted to make a good first
impression because I was
meeting her sister that
night.They are very close
and I know how important
family is to Holly.That is
one of the many qualities
that I really admired in her.
14. HOLLY
My friend Stefanie told me she was
getting married in Jamaica and
asked me to go.At the time,
Matt and I had only been dating
for a few months, but I asked
him to go with me. I had a pretty
good feeling about him though.
He woke me up at 5am the morning
after their wedding so we could
watch the sun rise over the
ocean. Sleepy-eyed, we took a
walk down the beach where I
found the message written in
the sand.
MATT
Upon loading the plane, my carry-on
bag, which had the ring in it, was
tagged to be gate-checked because
the flight was full. I ripped off the tag,
which was unlike me, and stuffed it in
my pocket before anybody could see
what I’d done.Then I held the
suitcase as tight as I could and carried
it on board.
Sleep eluded me as I was so excited to
pop the question that I spent most of
the night pacing up and down the
beach thanking God for my life and
planning my proposal.
18. One of our favorites from the engagement photos by the amazing Kenny Felt
19.
20. HOLLY
May of 2012 was time
to say goodbye to
our college days as
Jayhawks and hello
to the real world.
MATT
After going to school
for 8 ½ years I was
ready to begin using
my degree to help
others.
24. HOLLY
Our friends and family made
our wedding day
everything we ever
dreamed of and more. By
the end of the day, my
cheeks were so sore from
smiling so much.
MATT
I will never forget that
day. That was the best
day of my life, or so I
thought. In reality, it
just keeps getting
better.
25.
26.
27.
28. HOLLY
We were just casually looking
at houses with the intent to
buy SEVERAL months
down the road, but thanks
to our great friend and
realtor Colby Reynolds, we
found a house we couldn’t
resist.
MATT
We have since turned our
house into a home and
couldn’t be any
happier. We may even
have room for more
than two. We’ll see…
31. HOLLY
We found the bridge in Paris
that our friendTracy told us
about. Lovers write their
name on a lock, fasten it to
the bridge, and throw the
key over the bridge into the
water for eternal love.
It was so hard to leave
Europe. We didn’t bring
back many souvenirs, but…
MATT
We traveled to Europe with
an amazing group of family
and friends. A couple
weeks after we returned,
we heard on the news part
of the bridge collapsed.
We would like to think the
weight of our love had
something to do with that.
35. HOLLY
We’re 13 weeks along. Baby
Plank is the size of a
peach and growing like
crazy.
Vocal chords are now
developing that will let
out that first cry to
announce the arrival into
this world and later down
the road allow them to
say their first words.
MATT
My sister (the gift
whisperer) gave us a
perfect book to help
track baby’s weekly
progress.
Most recently we learned
baby has formed
fingerprints that will one
day make their mark on
this world.
36. 1
3
W
E
E
K
S
Mommy and baby
have been living off
of oatmeal,
bean burritos,
bananas, and peaches
lately.
Baby has a strong
heartbeat of 165
bpm and is happy
and healthy.
Morning sickness has
started to ease up
and I am so thankful.
37.
38. HOLLY
Baby seems to be using
mommy’s energy to grow.
I am sleeping around 9-12
hours a night and napping
whenever and wherever I
can. Matt has caught me
on camera a few times. I
am trying to rest up for
those late night bonding
sessions that we will have.
MATT
One of my favorite games to
play lately when I come
inside the house is, “Where
am I going to find my wife
sleeping?” It’s usually on
one of the beds or couches.
Sometimes she surprises
me though and I find her
on a desk, dryer, or the
stairs.
41. HOLLY
Upon announcing the news,
mom started whispering to
my belly, dad said that he
already knew because he
saw it on facebook, Mindy
didn’t believe us, and Jill
was trying to calm down
our niece Addy, because
she was so excited to hear
she is going to have a baby
cousin to play with.
MATT
My immediate family’s reaction was
hilarious and priceless. My dad
went for Holly’s belly, my mom
just stood there in awe with her
hand over her mouth, my oldest
sister Megan cried, and my
youngest sister Morgan
screamed so loud she could have
woken up the entire
neighborhood.
Mom made a celebratory brunch
that we feasted on , complete
with sparkling grape juice and
baby décor.
42.
43.
44. HOLLY
Mommy and Daddy are so
excited to meet you. We
don’t know if you are a boy
or a girl, but we want you
to know that you will be
the most loved baby in this
ENTIRE world. We pray
that we can be even half
the parents to you that
we were blessed to have.
MATT
We thank God each day that He
chose us to be your parents
and we continue to pray for
your physical, mental, and
spiritual strength and health.
There is no doubt you will be
surrounded by amazing
people and smothered with
unconditional love.
We love you so much.
Love,
Mom and Dad
