It's finally here! The time to decorate for Christmas. I wouldn't let myself decorate until Thanksgiving was over- only one holiday at a time. But the most wonderful time of year is finally here! (Wait...didn't I say that about autumn a few months ago?!) Our Christmas decorations are below.
"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings..." Adam and I have a silver bell for every Christmas we have been married. My mom's long time coworker and now principal started the tradition for us because it is so special to her and her husband. She gave us our first bell in 2005 as a wedding gift. This is now our fourth bell...and one day we will have a special tree with nothing but our bells on it.

Jake is admiring his ornament, which he "helped" hang on the tree of course.

To top it all off, it's snowing outside. We are supposed to get 6-8 inches tonight, so we are on our way to a white Christmas. Merry Christmas to you and yours as we celebrate this wonderful season and the birth of Christ.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our first Michigan Thanksgiving. We thought about having a quiet dinner at home after Adam finished rounding and surgery that morning, but decided to go to our friend's home instead. We knew Jeff and Angela from Texas- Adam and Jeff went to med school together and played on the same softball team, and I got to know Angela from being a fellow softball spectator on Wednesday evenings. Jeff and Angela moved to Michigan a year before we did and it's been great having some friends to spend time with up here.

Jeff and Angela have two children- Whitley and Maggie. We knew Whitley in Texas, but Maggie was a Michigan addition.

Adam and Whitley watching the Cowboy game.

Jeff fried a turkey.

Angela and our beautiful Thanksgiving table.

Thankful

A few months ago a dear friend challenged some of her blog readers to post what about for what they were thankful. I have had something on my mind since then that I wanted to post about, but I wanted to wait until it was finalized.

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Let me back up a bit...most of you know this, but I just entered a PhD program in September. I applied to UMich after the application deadline- the deadline for PhD studies was December 1, 2007 for entrance September 2008, and I applied in April 2008 after Adam and I found out he matched with a residency program in Michigan. In general, PhD students do not pay for their own education- they are supported through fellowships or teaching funds. Since I applied well after the deadline, all funds for my cohort of students had already been allocated. I worked hard to find funding before school began, but was unsuccessful. My dear friend called one day in late August just as I found out my last option for funding fell through, just as I was sitting in the middle of my beautiful campus with tears streaming down my face out of desperation. (How does she always know the perfect time to call when I need her most? Amazing...) University*of*Michigan is extremely expensive...for me over $17,000 per SEMESTER because I am out-of-state, so the funding issue was a big deal. Between Adam and I, we have/will have 20 years of post-high school education by the time we are done with school and training, and that also means almost 20 years of education loans.

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Even though I absolutely hated adding to our education debt, we decided to take out loans for me for this semester...after all, $17,000 was just a drop in our $200,000 loan bucket. :) So, the semester has gone on and is now almost done. I love it here and feel that I have been successful in making good connections with my faculty for future research opportunities and have made friends with my fellow students. I am so thankful for the opportunity to attend one of the very top schools of public health in the nation.

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And now for the big praise part: I have funding for next semester!!! Last week I was offered a teaching position in the biology department (my undergrad degree is in biology). Normally I wouldn't share things about money, but this time I will just to convey what a huge deal this is. The position comes with a tuition waiver and a large stipend...which is worth over $25,000 for the semester. I am tearing up just thinking about what an amazing gift this is for me and for me and Adam as a family. Not only do I get to teach science/public health- which is something I absolutely LOVE doing and feel that it is my gift and calling to do- but I get paid to do it and now I don't have to take out school loans again. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and praise for this gift.

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I am also thankful for my dear friend, who continued to remember about this financial stuggle for me and follow up when we spoke this semester. It meant so much that you cared enough to remember. I love you.

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Take a moment to think about what you are thankful for today. I know there are lots of things that can come to mind for you even though we often don't realize what we have. :)

Bolt!

My mom, Adam, and I went to see Bolt, the new Disney movie, this past weekend. Our theatre was showing a "sneak preview" in 3D, and I have been so excited to see this movie. I am not really a cartoon fan so much anymore, but owning a little white super hero dog myself, I just couldn't resist. The official website indicates that Bolt is a white German shepherd, but you can tell from his proportions that he's not quite big enough to be a German shepherd- I mean, he's barely bigger than the hamster and cat (see above picture). I think he looks more like Jake instead. (I know, I know...I talk about my dog ALL the time- but he is just so stinkin' cute!)

The movie was really cute and I enjoyed it...and the fact that my mom and Adam went with me was even more enjoyable. (Do I not have the coolest husband in the world? He has now taken me to see Bolt and Enchanted! What a guy!)

We brought home a pair of glasses for Jake as well. Clearly, he was thrilled to pose for the picture. My poor dog, always having to sit for pictures....

And then it was winter...on the brighter side this time

My mom was in town this weekend. We had a great time not doing much of anything...some shopping, some movies, etc. It was yucky weather most of the time she was here, mostly rain and winter-slush-mix. But about four hours after she left, this is what we saw...I am just sad she missed it:

I am not sure what he was looking for, but he sure was excited to hunt for it.

These are the same trees that I photographed at the end of our street for the autumn colors. All the leaves were gone by a week or two ago and now look at them! So beautiful with all the snow.

Jake had so much fun. He blends in to the snow so well that at one point we couldn't find him.

Adam built a snowman and then we had a snowball fight.
I am pretty sure our neighbors looked outside and thought those crazy Texans! Who actually enjoys the snow?!



Sweet puppy kisses. I think he was saying thank you for letting him play in the snow.

Adam in the snow...and by the way, don't ever get in a snowball fight with him. Former all-star baseball players have good aim. :)

And then it was winter...

True story: I was outside yesterday evening and looked up and thought, what is all that fuzz? We don't live next to a cottonwood tree. And then I realized the fuzz was cold and disappeared when I caught it in my hand. And then it hit me...it was snow! The snowfall got heavier as the evening wore on, and by this morning it was everywhere! This was the first time that Jake had truly seen snow, and it was fun watching him try to figure out what it was. After sinking through the snow and grass, it was up to his belly. The snow falling against the trees was beautiful, and I realized that winter was upon us.

This was all quite magical until I got in my car to leave the house and travel to school. For those of you who aren't familiar with my daily commute, it's 45 minutes of driving on a good day. I had a test at 10am, so I left my house at 6:30am to get to school, have a cup of coffee, relax, and study before my exam. I slipped and slid to the highway entrance by my house. I got to the highway, but then I didn't really go anywhere. By 7:30, I had only traveled about 2 miles, and I was getting quite worried. By 8:00, I was in a full-blown panic attack. I called my professor to let him know I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. I called Adam out of surgery to cry about possibly missing my exam. I called my classmate for encouragement. And then I put my car in PARK, and sat on the highway for another hour. The only way out was to go the wrong way down the shoulder or across the snowy grass to another road, neither of which I felt comfortable doing. So I just sat there. And sat there. And sat there. I studied a bit (like I said, I was literally in park), but most of all I just panicked. Apparently, the overpass/highway interchange I was trying to get to was shut down just before I reached it to clear wrecks. At 9:15, a several salt trucks went barreling by my car and salted the overpass, which allowed the semis and cars in front of me to go. Then it was my turn. After getting past that overpass, THE ROADS WERE COMPLETELY DRY! So then I drove 85 miles an hour and parked in a $5/hour lot at the hospital and RAN to my class. I made it with 5 minutes to spare. If you're keeping track, that's almost 3 AND A HALF HOURS to get to school today. What a day.

Funderstorm's fun "Accent Quiz" confirmed my belief about my accent, as previously discussed in my last post. :)

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The South
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz