last week : vacation

It was so nice.  I mean, so, so, nice. We had most of 5 days to be a family of 3.  Kyle getting to just be a dad.  He wore that hat very well last week.  And getting to see him in that role makes me even more in love with him every day.

The rest of his vacation, his mom was in town and that provided a different form of bliss.  Dates.

Granny Carol did quite a bit of babysitting for us... we did make sure to get her out of the house... it was her vacation as well... But 3 of the days she was here, we were able to slip away for little dates.  One day we saw the new Hunger Games movie (fantastic!); the next day we went out for a hibachi lunch; and the last date was another trip to the theater to see the new Hobbit movie.  Thank you SO MUCH Granny Carol!  I think Myles had fun playing with you :).

The vacation went by way too quickly (as they always do) but it was a good break for all of us anyway.

Also over the break, we finished our Christmas shopping, and picked out new doorknobs for the house.  Myles and I have finished all of our running around town and to Christmas parties, so over the next few days I will be busy wrapping presents and slowly installing the knobs.  I am SO excited about this!

I weighed little man the other day (roughly... you know, step on the scale alone and then holding him...not super accurate) and he is around 9 lbs (!!!).  So now that all of our cloth diapers are in (we are going to see how 15 work for us; BumGenius 4.0) I think I will be getting them washed and ready for the switch pretty soon.  I have read that 10 lbs is usually about when they fit baby best, but I might try them out next week anyways.  If they don't work yet, they will soon!

thankful thursday

It has been a while since I wrote a Thankful Thursday post.  And I hate that.  I read a blog post the other day about finding the flowers instead of the weeds (you know... like dandelions make people mad because they are weeds but to a kid its a pretty flower).  That sort of perspective on life.  It reminded me that I have stopped remembering what I am thankful for lately.  So here we go.

friendship.  I am incredibly grateful for having found some friends down here.  It has made this whole move easier knowing that there are a couple people I can depend on if I really need some help.  Not only that, but some of these people pursue me.  That is so refreshing.  I'm usually the one having to instigate conversations/plans, but its been really nice to have a few girls checking in on me through the week... and inviting me out.

rest.  Now this is a flower from a weed.  I'm still recouping from pushing my body too far this weekend.  I'm really uncomfortable when I walk around but it is getting better everyday.  I have gone out a little but only for dinner (sitting) and I spent time with a friend at her house last night (more sitting).  It is good to rest.  The worst of the projects are finished in the house so all that is left is simple crafty things that I can do while laying in bed.  

this blog.  This is officially my 100th post on the blog.  It has been a process figuring out what I want this to be.  I'm never 100% satisfied with the direction I have gone with it but right now it works.  It has been a good outlet for thoughts, and an even better way of updating everyone back home on how our life down here is going.  No matter what... it makes me think.  And that is a blessing in itself.  

So what are you thankful for this week?

As usual I am linking up with Julia at BlackTagDiaries.

thankful thursday : ky trip home

I'm sure you all remember that I went back to KY recently for baby showers.  I was able to spend about a week at my parent's house, and it was fantastic.  So this Thankful Thursday is all about my trip home.  Because while I am very thankful to now be home with Kyle, I was very thankful for my time in Western KY.  It was full of time to relax, good food, and lots of presents!

Photo explanations in order: Breezy Hill for lunch with the boys; lots of pool time; shower #1 from my side of the family (hosted by women that are just like family) presents were put in the cradle my dad made; decorations from shower #1 (vintage themed); shower #2 from Kyle's side (hosted by his sister and church); handmade cookies by a church member (who also did the cake and hand decorated homemade mints); presents from Kyle's grandmother who just passed away (she purchased these things right before she went to the hospital); Kobe man; dad and Tom fired up the pit for Labor Day (amazing).

linking up with Julia over at black tag diaries for this very Thankful Thursday!

thankful thursday : sunshine

This Thursday I am thankful for:

Sunshine.  It has been a dreary week and a half here in SC.  And cold.  Like not getting above 70, and cloudy or rainy and breezy.  Yuck.  It has been rather depressing, and the reason I am so far behind on painting the nursery furniture.  Finally.  Finally!  I woke up this morning to sunshine and warm/hot weather.  I could actually see what I was doing under the carport today!  

Granted... it has now come a little storm... but this is such an improvement over what we have had.  

And it will be gone soon enough :).

thankful thursday : trauma alert

This Thankful Thursday I am going to do things a little different.  Instead of a list of things I am thankful for, it is going to be a long story of the most significant thing that happened this week.  Warning... its a tear jerker.  But I am oh so thankful for the lesson I got/ am getting from it.  I wasn't sure I wanted to write about it, but I have been feeling convicted with how little "real" stuff I have been writing lately, and I realized how much I needed to share this.

Let me start off with saying that the hospital gives every doctor a cell phone programmed to act as pagers, or just to send out their massive Trauma Alert texts.  This focusses on the alerts.  They go to every doctor, every hour of the day, regardless of who is working.  So Kyle gets these all the time.  It really only affects the doctors that are actually working at the hospital at the time of the alert... So they basically go ignored if you are off duty.  So far it has just been that interesting thing to talk about... "oh they got slammed last night!  I had 5 alerts while we were sleeping!".  "Oh it sounds like there was another moped wreck just now" (mopeds are a huge issue down here).  

That all changed early Monday morning.

At about 3:30am, Kyle's phone started going off.  I know what the alerts are, because his phone vibrates 3 times and the light comes on.  I'm a light sleeper... so most of the time it jogs me awake a little but then I go back to sleep pretty quick.  Because usually it happens twice (once for text, once for email) and then its over.  Not Monday.  It went off about 6 times in 30 minutes.  Kyle rolled over and groggily assessed it was an initial alert and then some corrections.  Being that it is now 4am and I know I'm going to wake up shortly again when Kyle has to get up, I was immediately annoyed.  I mean why couldn't they just get it right the first time or two?  Why did they have to keep interrupting MY sleep?  I even rolled over and complained on Facebook about alerts in the middle of the night.  I acted like a child.  And then I tried to go back to sleep.  No dice.  Damage was done, I was wide awake.  So I laid there and waited for Kyle to get up so I could really try to fall asleep again.  

He got up, and almost immediately had a phone call from his upper level letting him know he was going into a procedure immediately and Kyle needed to run the list without him.  That was a little weird.  Never had a phone call that early.

I went ahead and got out of bed at 5.  Only thing on tv that early was the news.  It was plastered with photos of a wreck that happened at 3:30am about 5 miles from our house on the interstate.  I was immediately taken aback.  For the first time ever, the trauma alert I was annoyed with coincided with the time frame of what I was watching on the news.  This was no longer an interesting conversation point between husband and wife.  This was real.

It got worse.

I started to learn details as the news channel got more information that morning.

An under-the-influence driver got on the interstate going the wrong way.  At the same time, a family of 5 was traveling back home from a trip to North Carolina.  Dad driving in a car alone in front, Mom with 3 children (3, 8, and 9) in the van behind him.  Dad on the phone talking to mom.  Dad sees the issue, mom doesn't.  He doesn't have time to warn her.  The driver slams into mom's van.  Dad watches his wife die and pulls his 3 children from the vehicle.  Children.  With very serious injuries.

My husband is on his Pediatric Surgery rotation right now.  He has seen the family all week.  His upper level was calling to let him know he was rushing in to work on one of the children.

Having knowledge of this tragedy has been a big low for both of us this week.  Kyle because he is a doctor witnessing the heartache everyday.  Me, because I was slapped into reality Monday morning.  And I am thankful for it.  I didn't realize how jaded I had become in less than 2 months of him working.    I was woken from my precious sleep while a family was being torn apart.  And because all they had been to me was a text message, I was annoyed.  

But now I know.  These 3 vibrations on the side table of our dark bedroom: they are real people.  They are real cries for help.  They are tragedies like a doctor would have been notified of last week of my brother's good friend dying in a motorcycle wreck because a driver didn't pay attention and pulled out in front of him.  They could be a friend of mine, or a family member.  And I would hope that the reaction from whoever received that message would not be like what I had, annoyed with the inconvenience of an untimely text message, but a realization/acknowledgment that a team of doctors needs to be ready to save a life.

I am not thankful for this tragedy.  But I am thankful for the kick in the pants I got from knowing about it.  Thank you God for that realization that I need to check my attitude in these situations and for showing me at 5am that these alerts are real people.

Because its easy to flippantly say "oh that's just another trauma alert", and forget what that word actually means:  Trauma-

A serious injury or shock to the body, as from violence or an accident. An event or situation that causes great distress and disruption.

Not something to be taken lightly at any hour of the day, even if you are just the doctor's wife.  

thankful thursday

this Thursday I am thankful for:

talented friends
because of a couple we have met at church, we were able to pull off a pretty cool project for our families this week.  I will share more next week when I'm sure all of the participants have participated.  thankful for their willingness to help out people they have just met and barely gotten to know, at the drop of a hat.

time
I have nothing but time.  And because of that I can leisurely decide if I want to work on the house or spend my time on fun short projects like I have all week.  Monday I spent several hours working on the above mentioned project, Tuesday I spent most of the day working on turning the peaches we picked this weekend into jam and peach butter for canning, and Wednesday I baked some fresh bread.  It has all been a lot of fun, and things that I could put lots of care and details into that I normally would not have been able to focus on.  And man has our house smelled amazing this week!

random moments that make you smile
despite the gloomy, rainy weather we have had around here, it hasn't been dreary around the house.  whether it is the baby making some crazy movements in the belly or the cats being ridiculously funny... it hasn't been a dull moment while stuck inside the house.

So what are you thankful for this week?

thankful thursday : a truckload

This Thursday I am thankful for:

A truckload of stuff.  Because it can only mean one thing!!!

PUPPIES!!!! 

(Addie wouldn't get on the couch)

Actually it means more than that but I love getting to see my parent's dogs... We won't be getting one anytime soon (sad face) so I soak in the Aussie love while they are here.  

It really also means that my parents are here of course... which means projects on the house are going to get done!  I have promised mom that we won't ONLY work while they are here.  I want them to have some fun and explore too!  Can't wait to see what all we squeeze into the next few days!

I'm linking up with Julia at BlackTagDiaries this week.  Happy Thankful Thursday!

thankful thursday : oh boy...

I had my first Doctor appointment at our new location on Tuesday.  I was there for 4 hours.  No joke.  

1:30pm : arrive to start filling out paperwork

2:00pm : called back for ultrasound

2:40pm : sent back to waiting room to wait for Education nurse

2:55pm : go upstairs with nurse.  Find out my old office hadn't sent my records.  Sit through nurse trying to get my records from them.  They had tried faxing them to the normal phone number and received a confirmation (go figure).  Will resend.  Finish giving her some of my history and learning about their practice and the hospital's services.

3:30pm : go back to waiting room.  Find out from education nurse that office sent records.

3:35pm : Education nurse comes back... they didn't include my labs.  Start calling Louisville to get this figured out.

3:45pm : Go back to have finger pricked.  Iron is really low. 

3:55pm : back to the waiting room.

4:15pm : starting to get worried... 

4:45pm : called back to exam room.

5:00pm : Dr. sticks head in to apologize and promise she is coming in very soon.

5:08pm : Nurse knocks on the door and offers us Sprite.

5:12pm : Dr. comes in.  Says everything looks great with the baby, wants to give me a bunch of iron, will see me in 4 weeks.

5:20pm : Find out from receptionist that there had been a few "emergencies" and thats why I had waited so long.  Getting an explanation did calm me down a little bit.  I try to understand... Its going to happen a lot from the other side of the situation for me.  Any other day it wouldn't have mattered... but Kyle's parents were back at home alone waiting on me to start grilling the ribs.  

And my amazing husband was able to stay with me the entire time.  His orientation instructor let him leave to be there for the ultrasound.  So thankful that we have ended up in this city, with this program.  It really seems like they are a great family oriented place...at least by Gen Surg standards.  Not all places would have let the intern leave in the middle of the day to be there for the big ultrasound.  And he wouldn't have been able to witness this:

our stubborn baby that wouldn't move arms and hands out of the way.

Oh and we are both also REALLY thankful to find out that this baby is a 



BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Thankful Thursday!

This week I am linking up with Julia at BlackTag Diaries and Theres Just One Mommy.  Stop by and say hello to them!

thankful thursday

Wow, Thursday really snuck up on me this week!  I really thought yesterday was Tuesday for a while!

this Thursday I am thankful for:

closing.  It was a long long road.  No part of it was ideal (except maybe picking out the house on our first day looking).  We had a great realty team there to support us through it all, and our realtor has really become part of the family.  It sounds like we aren't the only ones to have some issues moving in... 2 other residents on Kyle's team have also had problems; one is living in a hotel this week, hoping to close on her house, the other closed a while ago but planned and unplanned renovations have held up their settling in.  Thankful our house was pretty much move-in ready.

my family.  They were with us from Wednesday night to Monday at noon.  From loading the truck to organizing it in the new house.  Couldn't have done as much as we did without them.  Thanks guys for everything; I know I didn't make it easy on you but you were real troopers.  My dad basically worked nonstop as carpenter, gardener, electrician, and plumber from the moment we unlocked the door (except for this quick trip to downtown for dinner).

my backyard.  You cannot imagine how excited I am to finally have a garden and a grill.  I can't wait to start getting in some fresh veggies and I have already put that grill to good use!  Thanks to everyone that made it possible.  Now I just need some patio furniture...

This Thursday I am linking up with my good friend Julia over at BlackTag Diaries.  So pop over and say hi!

thankful thursday

blessings beyond measure

A pastor at church challenged us all to write down the blessings the Lord has given us.  I think this is a good time to do that.  I'm sorry for the Debbie Downer post last weekend...

we have had 4 amazing years in Louisville... time that has completely changed the way our relationship works and made some amazing memories with pretty cool people that have influenced our lives exponentially.

we found a church that has challenged everything we ever knew about being Christians; for the first time ever, we have really experienced living in community with other believers.

we have had 4 years of close relationship with my brother; who half the time drove us insane but I am extremely grateful for the time we have had to finally become friends before our lives take us in completely different places.

we have had a pretty nice place to live this whole time with only a few minor quirks to deal with.  A home that allowed us to host small group for almost 2 years (no matter how crowded it may have gotten... no joke... at one point there were 40 people meeting in our little living room.)

our fridge (that we constantly complain about...its tiny and no ice maker like the fridge that was in the apartment they staged for us) has never been close to empty.

we are going to be parents, and according to the doctor this morning I am gaining weight well and have perfect blood pressure...and don't forget the major blessing of no morning sickness!

it took a while for me to get pregnant, all of which time was filled with many life lessons that we needed to learn before it finally happened.

we both have family that love us more than we can understand.

he was Matched into our number one choice for residency.

it only took one trip for us to find the house we are still hoping to move into.

we found a house before the housing market in Greenville exploded...which probably would have made it a lot harder to find a house without competition/in our price.

tomorrow I will have been married to a pretty cool guy for 5 years.

there are so many more but this seems like a pretty good list for now.

Linking up with Julia over at Black Tag Diaries today.

thankful thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for...

progress.  thanks to my mother-in-law, my bathrooms are spotless.  I had the push I needed to go ahead and box up the books from the bookcase, and I posted my cabinet for sale online.  (not that anyone has inquired about it).

a good report.  I went to the dentist last Friday.  First time in two years.  Its not that I'm one of those people that has always been afraid of the dentist... I just had a bad experience when trying out my first dentist in Louisville.  I went then, first time in a long time since I didn't have insurance, but wasn't too worried because I had never had a bad report at my hometown dentist.  Walked out with a recommendation to fill 9 cavities that didn't completely exist yet for $2K.  Thankfully my old local dentist assured me that was stupid.  But now I need wisdom teeth out... so I made the trip to the local dental school for a cleaning.  With only one problem tooth that I know is a problem, I walked out with a good report and surgery scheduled.  Too bad I'm leaving town and will have to go through the search again!

donuts.  I have become reacquainted with my old love recently.  I used to stop at the gas station and grab some Dunkin once a week as my Friday treat last year.  Then I started sleeping in and that practice ended a while back.  I went back last week and it was glorious.  And I bought a box of Entenmann's Softees from the grocery this week.  I have a problem.  And I'm not ashamed.

thankful thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for:

blog friend recipes.  This week I tried a new soup recipe my friend Amy posted about recently.  Turkey Sausage, Kale, and Tortellini Soup.  And it was DELICIOUS.  I tweaked it quite a bit... made it spicier.. added water so there would be more broth... improvised a little... but it was awesome.  I'm very thankful for the bountiful leftovers that I am currently enjoying.

signing the contract.  This was a little more complicated that anticipated.  We signed everything, and then found an error Monday evening on the amount we were financing (we would have been out an additional $2K)... so they had to cancel the contract.  And then it took 2 more days to get the new contract to us because they got busy with another account.  So basically we resigned everything 2 hours before the seller cancelled the deal.  Because they were annoyed with how long it was taking.  And boy, so was I.  But that part is over and inspections are scheduled for next week.

birthday weeks.  This week was my brother and I's birthdays (we are 3 years and 1 day apart).  We had our weekly church group meeting on my birthday... but that didn't stop the celebrations... They loved on me big time.  Carrot cake, Nord's Bakery cookies and donuts, cheesecake.  Those people know how to party, and about half of them just met me 2 months ago.  Thats love people.  How cute is that KY cookie?? My Russian friend told me I had to eat it all because I was leaving it.

This week I am linking up with

thankful thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for:

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graduation presents.  This one is only indirectly for me... Kyle's family for his graduation present (early) made it possible for him to FINALLY get Lasik.  I've had to listen to him talk about it for years.  And it finally happened.  Like, he is playing a game with sunglasses on right this moment.  He needed it really bad... like his astigmatism was so bad he constantly had to touch his eyes to reposition his contacts to his eyes.  Not a good habit to deal with as a surgeon.  Not at all.  Thank you Kyle's family. 

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travel.  This is it.  This is the weekend we hop house to house in our future city and hope to find our home.  I don't know how I feel about this yet.  Am I just overwhelmed with the whole prospect, or am I actually excited about it, but the idea of being in the car for 7 hours is dampening it?  Not sure yet.  But either way... its here, and this is really Kyle's first chance to really see the city we prayed for...we were only there about 24 hours last time and he spent his whole time in the hospital for the interview.  So I am excited for him to see it, and to get to see even more for myself.  

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good news.  A good friend of mine got some great news for his future career in this country... and I am beyond excited for him and his family.  Sometimes dreams do come true... albeit a little late... but God's timing is perfect and good.  

What are you thankful for this week?

I'm linking up with 

thankful thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for:

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Easter.  The celebration of Christ's death, resurrection, and promise to return once again.  Thankful for this yearly reminder of the main focal point of our faith.

Family time.  We are about to go home for Easter to visit Kyle's family for the weekend.  Which means lots of family spread over 2 states squeezed into about 48 hours.  Can't wait to see them all!

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Tea.  I was on a tea kick a while back... like obsessed with it.  And then I rediscovered coffee.  And then yesterday, I was too lazy/in a hurry, to fix my normal cup of french press, so I brought out the tea again.  Oh how I have missed thee.  Specifically, black tea with cream and sugar.  Yum.

What are you thankful for this week?

This week I am linking up with