a not-so-warm welcome home

We arrived back in Denver last sunday after a fabulous week of vacation and our initial reaction when we walked in the door was "It's freezing in here!... (gasp) There's water running!!!"... We ran upstairs to find water pouring out of the wall in our guest bathroom, thankfully into the tub, which was draining. We couldn't get the heater to turn on ... ironically it decided to break during probably the coldest week in Denver this winter (only around -18ish... glad we were in texas that week!) So our initial diagnosis was that it got so cold in our house that a pipe burst. stellar. we left our fireplace on all night and Jake slept curled up against our space-heater while matt and I slept under about 5 blankets. After about a day and a half of having no heat and no water in the house, it was determined that it wasn't a pipe that burst, but just a faulty valve stem in the shower... which meant NO WATER DAMAGE in the wall!! Yay!! so we were back to having heat and water by tuesday and the only minor damages were the cost of the repairs and an additional delay in getting our christmas tree up..... :)



here's a pic of our fireside dinner... how romantic.

texas vacation and wedding week!

We got to go back to Dallas a couple weeks ago to see my sister, Sarah, get married! Matt took the whole week off and we enjoyed every minute of our time there, helping with wedding preparations and visiting with people that mean so much to us! It was a much-needed time of relaxation and re-connecting with sweet friends. Matt got to hang out a lot with three of his best friends from med school - Josh, Nathan, and Ryan - who were also on vacation and in Dallas that week. It was such a blessing that it worked out that way!

We got to spend time with so many other friends, including Haley and Ryan, the Langston's, the Gray's, Emily Brown, and Sarah Brundrett... and we found time to go to Gloria's four times that week for our fajita/margarita fix. :) I also got to go to my old office and hang out for a while.

(My only regret is that I didn't take enough pictures!)

Justin, Nathan, Ryan, Josh, & Matt

The weekend before the wedding, I hosted a lingerie shower for Sarah, which was really fun....

all of the girls that came to the shower

me, Sarah, and Emily (who came all the way from East Asia for the wedding!! It was so good to see her!!)

pampering ourselves :)

We had a fun family dinner at Campisi's with my Mom and Dad, Sarah and Luke, and Kevin and Kelly ... taking advantage of all 8 of us being in the same city!

Sarah and Luke

do they look ready for marriage? :) just kidding...

Kevin and Kelly

Sarah's last time to leave her apartment as a single lady!!

Daddy and Sarah at the Rehearsal

i really like this pic :)

almost married!

Luke and Sarah Tie the Knot!

Sarah married Luke Abraham on December 12th! Sarah was a gorgeous bride and the wedding was beautiful! We had so much fun!!!


disclaimer: A few of these pics are mine, but a few are stolen from friends who posted them on facebook... It's hard to focus on getting pics and being a good matron of honor. :)

Texas!!

Reasons I'm in a good mood today:

1. I'm in Texas!

2. My sister gets married in a week!

3. My hubby gets here tomorrow and we'll have 7 whole days off together!

4. We have a whole week to catch up with sweet friends and family!

5. Gloria's for dinner tonight! :)

6. I get to go to Northwest Bible Church twice this week!

so excited :) and thankful.

Thanksgiving 2009!!

This year we had Thanksgiving at our house! Matt had to work till 6 pm, so I had all day to prepare and overcome my fear of cooking a turkey!!! My parents came up from Colorado Springs with my Grandma and good friends, Rich and Pam. Andrew, our good friend from med school in Dallas who is now also in residency here, also came, along with our new friends Andy and Pattie Glassick! We have a lot in common with Andy and Pattie because they just moved here for Andy's dental residency. They live in our neighborhood and go to our church, too, so it's been fun to get to know them! We really enjoyed spending thanksgiving with so many great people!

dinner for 10! We had to extend our dining table to it's limits :)

from left to right: Pam, Rich, Grandma, Mom, Daddy, Pattie, Andy, Andrew, Matt

here we are trying to figure out what to do with the turkey... "Where is this stuff we're supposed to take out of it?!?"

We did it! yummm...

The Whinerys and the Glassicks

(please excuse Jake's scary eyes...)

220 years later...

I don't think I had ever actually read this before, but it's worth it....

As President, on October 3, 1789, George Washington made the following proclamation and created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States of America:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

one year old!

Our puppy turned ONE on November 17th!! We had a great day celebrating. We started it off with our normal morning routine of frisbee in the park across the street, and Jake got to play with one of his 2 best friends, Roxy. She's a sweet black lab that we run into regularly during our morning activities. :) They get along great and they got extra playtime on the big day. I made a point to come home for lunch that day and we played some more.... then we played some more when I got home that evening. When Matt got home we took a special trip to Petsmart and picked out 2 toys, both of which are already quite worn in. :)

I really really love my puppy. :)

Oc-SNOW-ber

I have to admit, I was really questioning the 8-14 inches of accumulation, but we got it!! At least a foot in the greenway where Jake and I play frisbee. :) It was a fun couple of days... poor matt was at the hospital during the first 30 hours of it, so I think he was delightfully surprised when he emerged from the ICU. :)

Dear Fall, please stay a little longer?

When we moved to Colorado, I was excited about being able to experience Autumn like never before... it's been so fun to see the leaves change, watch them fall, and feel them crunch beneath my feet on my early morning walks with Jake. The air is crisp, families are out raking and decorating for Halloween. it's lovely.

But I was unaware that this type of Fall comes with frequent snow showers. Yes, I'm counting and we're now on number five. FIVE snows before Halloween! In Denver! We're not even in the mountains!!! quite the phenomenon... It's currently coming down pretty hard and it's supposed to continue for like the next 3 days ... something called a "winter storm warning"... So, I'll update you on our progress, we'll see if we get the "8 to 14 inches of accumulation" that is expected. And you can look forward to knowing the exact number of times it snows in Denver this year... in June when it decides to stop. :)

thoughts on moving

**warning: another sentimental, but honest, post**

moving... not a huge fan. Don't get me wrong, we have experienced many blessings here in Denver and are getting to know some wonderful people... but I just wish people never had to move. I like to get to know people really well... it's really hard to just up and leave friendships and jobs that you've invested so much in. There's a void... and it doesn't get filled in again very quickly. I miss Texas. I miss 96% of days being warm and toasty. I miss our friends!!! I miss our church. I miss my sister. I miss my old job. I miss Gloria's. I miss our little apartment at the Sycamore Tree. I miss Eatzi's salads. I miss Versailles Park. I miss my commute (!?). I miss working in Family Medicine. I miss good country radio stations. I miss working across the street from Chick-fil-A (although I'm sure my LDL does not...). I miss walks in Highland Park. and I miss having a husband in med school and not in residency.

this verse has meant a lot to me and Matt lately:

"Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup, You have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely I have a delightful inheritance." Psalm 16: 5-6

We're thankful for a new church and new friends, 2 jobs during rough economic times, a fun-loving pup to keep me company when the hubs is working, new things to play in like snow and mountains, a little white house that's perfect for us, my parents living 1.5 hours away, and chipotle... because it's the best tex-mex we've found up here....

3 down; 57 to go...

...total months of residency, that is. We're making progress. :) Matt has completed 3 of his 9 General Surgery months though, which sounds much better. In 6 months, he'll be able to focus on ENT instead of appendectomies, G-tubes, intracranial abcesses, and other fabulous things that he is not the least bit interested in.

And hopefully this will be his only course of Tamiflu this year.

It's been quite a year so far, but Matt is a trooper. I can't tell you how many times I've laid in bed unable to sleep because in my head I'm lecturing the President of the United States about how he'd better not mess with my husband's career. He works so incredibly hard and sometimes I wish average people knew how much it takes to become a doctor.

Not only does it take a brilliant mind and a compassionate heart, but it takes someone who is willing to set aside years of his life to learn how to save the lives of others.

It takes someone who is willing to go to work everyday knowing that patients' lives are in his hands (...there aren't many people who have that kind of pressure when they walk into the office in the morning.)

... someone who is willing to get up whenever they need to, to do whatever it takes.

... someone who will work from 5 am one day until noon the following day, without even sitting down to eat a meal, or sleeping.

...someone with the ability to be patient and kind toward sick people and worried families who have no idea how busy you are.... or how much you really care for them.

...someone who can handle incredible amounts of criticism, when compliments and simple Thank You's are few and far between.

It takes someone like Matt... and so many of our dear friends who we miss so much.

The next time you see your doctor, maybe try not to focus on how late they're running or how they're always bugging you to exercise, but think about saying an extra little "thank you." Because they really do care.

Ok, I'll get off my soap-box now.

I'm so proud of Matt for being 3/60ths of the way done. :)

all better :)

Well, after the last post I visited the "genius bar" at the apple store and I'm thrilled to say that they fixed my phone FOR FREE!!! I gave the nice genius-apple-man my sob-story and I guess he felt sorry for me! Yay for a lovely clear screen! ...and a brand-new case. :)

I'd recommend against this:

May 2009: my wonderful husband surprises me with an iphone. It's love at first sight.

We immediately purchase a lovely case to protect it from this little guy (looking innocent as usual.)

The first case was destroyed by Jake when it was still brand new. But my beloved phone was fine. I purchased another case when we moved to Denver and this one was rescued multiple times from the jaws of death (in the backyard, the bathroom, and other sneaky hiding places.) It was ultimately destroyed about 3 weeks ago. The phone survived without a scratch. Since that incident I was able to keep my phone out of the dog's mouth the entire time it was without a case, fully intending to purchase another impenetrable case.


Then it happened. I was on a leisurely walk in Vail last week and I dropped the phone, sunny side down, on the pavement. Sudden Death.


So today I will go visit the Apple people and beg for mercy .... and a new phone.

Connie's Black Eye...

That's what Matt calls this flower...

...which I'm pretty sure is called a "Black Eyed Susan." :)

I have a job!

That's right! Tengo un trabajo. After 4 long months of searching, waiting, praying, and getting my hopes up over and over (and repeat x 10), I have finally accepted a PA position at The Children's Hospital here in Denver, in the Department of Infectious Disease. It will be very different from my previous job, but I'm excited about the challenge and all the new things I'll learn. I'll get to work with world-renown experts in pediatric I.D. and they are some of the nicest people I've met since moving here.

Some perks to the new job:

1. I get to work in the (brand spanking new) Children's Hospital, which is right next door to the University Hospital where Matt works! He'll also be working at Children's for a few months here and there (doing ear tubes, tonsils, cleft lips and palates, etc, etc). I'm looking forward to being able to have lunch together at times and at least stopping by to see him when he's on-call.

2. I got to buy this today. And now I get to read it. Ugh.

3. Although I don't start working until August 17th, I get to go to a conference next week with the Department here:

That would be the Vail Plaza Hotel. Life's tough, eh? Actually, I'll just be attending the conference there and staying with Matt's parents at their condo. It'll be fun to hang out with them. :)

So, all in all, I'm thankful for the new opportunity and getting more excited about it day by day. One can only be a housewife for so long, right?... (actually, I'm pretty sure I could handle it for quite a while longer...) :)

Consider...

...the lilies of the field...

...they do not labor or spin...
...Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all of his splendor...

...was dressed like one of these...

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field...

...which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire...

... will He not much more clothe you, oh you of little faith?

oh yeah? well, my Daddy can...

... ride his bike for 120 miles over three mountain passes, gaining over 10, 000 feet in elevation! It's true. My dad rode in the "Triple Bypass" on Saturday, and let me say, I am thoroughly impressed. He's ridden "Century Rides" before, which are 100 miles through the mountains and incredibly challenging, but I think this tops it....


My mom and I had a great day driving out to the Vail area to meet my dad at the end of his ride. We just happened to cross the street at the same time my dad was rounding this corner about 1/2 a block from the finish line.



WAY TO GO, DADDY!!! :)