Toronto Blue Jays Game.

In late August, Joe and I drove to Toronto to watch the Blue Jays game against the Texas Rangers. It was the only Rangers' game I went to this season and they won!

 

Spring mantle.

It took a while for us to decide how to decorate the mantle for spring through September. But thanks to Pinterest and the thrift store, we found some inspiration and some inexpensive items to use. What do you think? 

Spring!

This last week, Joe and I decided to take a walk outside since it was the first day of real Spring. We went a couples miles down our street to Niagara River, which connects Lake Erie to Niagara Falls, and separates New York from Canada. It was a brisk day, but we were happy to be outside enjoying a little sun.

The ice beginning to melt.

A lot of dead fish were floating in the water..

But just as many fish were lying all over the sidewalk
and we couldn't figure out why.

Snowflakes and snow.

Joe and I have cut paper snowflakes almost every Christmas that we've been together. Our snowflakes get better each year!  We kept these up for a couple months after the holidays because we still had lots of snow and winter weather.

 It's been snowing every few days for the last 4 months, but we thought you might enjoy some pics from the snowfall in December/January. Almost 100 inches of snow this winter in the city! It even snowed every single day last week, which was weird to see for mid-March. (Keep in mind that this is a mild winter! And we're obviously thankful for that.) As a new Buffalo resident, I expected much more snow and much more accumulation than we've had. The winter has surprised both of us--some days have gotten up to 50 degrees... But usually within two or three days, the temperatures would drop again and we would get more snow. I am, however, learning to appreciate the beauty and stillness of snow. I really like how it sits on the sturdy, and not so sturdy, tree branches. I love seeing a thick layer of snow on the trees and the branches laboring to hold themselves up.  We've used our snow boots used regularly, but we will be happy to pack them away as soon as spring arrives!

Our very skinny, long, snowy driveway that I back out of every day!

Getting ready for Christmas.

 We decorated for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving and here are some pictures of the results. Joe and I have liked experiencing the season in this charming, old town. I do have to say that it's easier to have Christmas spirit when the weather is cold and snowy and the city looks like the ones in Christmas movies! Two weekends ago, our church hosted an event called "Pilgrimage to Bethlehem," which was a 40-minute walk through the prophecies and story of Jesus' birth. It was a pretty big production complete with several live sheep and goats, as well as live angels singing in the field behind the church. We helped a little bit one of the nights with greeting people and went on the tour the second night. Lucky for us it wasn't snowing that night, but it was 30 degrees mixed with some biting wind!

My favorite part was the very wooly sheep!

The mantle at Christmastime.

We are very proud of our mantle.

Nativity scene made of olive wood.

Joe being silly (he's going to be mad when he sees this online).

Lovely stockings made by my sister.

Still love the gas fireplace...perfect fire every night.

Thanksgiving 2012.

This Thanksgiving was the first year both Joe and I have been too far away to spend the holiday with family, but it still was a wonderful day! We were blessed to spend the evening with Eugene and Sing Your (our good friends from church), Eugene's brother visiting from Ann Arbor, MI, as well as another couple. Eugene and Sing Your are both physicians so when we get together with them there is no shortage of medical stories between them and Joe. (I try to look like I know what they are saying.) Out of everybody there that day, Joe and I were the ones that had the most Thanksgiving traditions, so we volunteered to bring the turkey, gravy, green bean cassarole, sweet potato cassarole, rolls, and pumpkin pie. The lesson we learned this year is not to be afraid of cooking the turkey!

Joe, Eugene, me, and Sing Your before eating our Thanksgiving feast.

Joe and I have many, many things to give thanks to God for this year. He continues to provide for us, love us, and stretch us in new ways here. We hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving.

"Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever." Psalm 136:26.

Med School for PA's

This is Joe, making a guest appearance on this blog to describe a little about what PA school is like here are D'Youville.

There are essentially three phases to my medical education here and you must successfully complete each phase before going on to the next. The first phase (which I am currently in) involves the "Basic Sciences of Medicine." This title is a little deceiving because there is nothing basic about it! These classes are Pathophysiology (the study of disease processes and how they effect each body system), Biochemistry (analyzing and memorizing the chemical reactions structures, functions and interactions of cellular components such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other biomolecules), Gross Anatomy (this is essentially a six hour cadaver lab, three days a week, where we dissect every muscle, nerve, bone, and organ in an actual human body), and finally Medical Microbiology.

Currently, I am taking Patho and just got finished with a test that covered all respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, hepatic and renal disease (Liver and Kidneys), and finally Acid-Base disorders and diseases. It is stressful because my notes and slides filled a 3" notebook... And that was just three weeks of material! Luckily that test is over and I can concentrate on the last test before finals which will cover Pancreatic, Reproductive, Genetic, and Neurological Diseases which is some of the hardest material in terms of the physiology involved.

Outside of class time, I probably spend at least 15-20 hrs a week EXTRA studying the material. That means many long nights in library and most of the weekend studying. If you don't enjoy reading (and comprehending it), don't go into the medical field!

Another interesting class that I am taking involves Ethics/Bioethics. It mainly involves applying ethical theories to medicine as well as a lot of scenarios. Lots of good discussion and lots of papers to write! This first semester has been tough because I have not been full-time in school for a few years and the workload is very overwhelming. It's worse than a full-time job because the hours extend long past when class is finished for the day.

My schedule is set and next semester I will spend most days in lab for Gross Anatomy and Biochem! It may not seem fun for most people, but I really love hands on learning and I am grateful for those who have donated their body to medical schools so that I may have the opportunity to learn.

There is a lot I haven't covered... So any questions?