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?

Enjoying Fall.

The weather is brisk and the leaves have changed beautifully. Now we know why people from other parts of the country love fall. Some newcomers like us rake the fallen leaves but the natives don't bother, since they know their yards will be covered again the next day. The real cold will arrive any time now, so we're savoring what's left of this lovely season.

Joe raking the front yard.

The big pile of leaves.

The house we live in. We have the downstairs apartment.

Our upstairs neighbors placed pumpkins on the steps.

Joe's main fall activity is studying.

I love having a mantle to decorate!

The cozy fireplace is already keeping me warm. I plan to sit as close
as possible to it all winter long.

Niagara Falls.

My parents came up for a week in the middle of September and my mom really helped make our apartment feel comfortable and welcoming. It was great to have them here for those few days! One afternoon, the four of us went out to Niagara Falls and rode the Maid of the Mist. (As usual, there are not many pictures of Joe, but I do my best to at least get a few of him.)

American Falls on the left and Canadian Falls on the right.

In line to board the Maid of the Mist.

My parents.

Lots and lots of mist.

Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Franklin Institute.

On our second day in Philadelphia, we spent the morning in the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the afternoon in the Franklin Institute.  Joe was able to find online deals for tickets 50% off at each of these places which made the day even better. The Philadelphia Museum of Art was hosting an exhibit called Visions of Arcadia with paintings by Gauguin, Cezanne, Matisse and others. The paintings were French artists' interpretations of paradise, contentment and harmony.

Philadelphia Museum of Art, with famous steps in front.

From the top of the steps looking back over the city. Lots of tourists were taking
Rocky-posed pictures while Philadelphians ran up and down the steps for exercise.

"Large Bathers" by Cezanne, part of the Arcadia exhibit.

After a few hours of quietly looking at paintings, we ate lunch and walked down the street to The Franklin Institute. I really liked the TFI because it presents scientific concepts in a simple yet sophisticated way to keep both kids and adults interested. Almost everything was hands-on and we had a lot of fun doing the little "experiments" and testing the theorems for ourselves!

On the steps of the Franklin Institute.

A live science demonstration in front of the statue of Franklin.

We measured how much blood we have based on our weight.

A huge human heart!

You can climb inside the heart and follow the path of
blood through the right side, to the lungs and out
through the left side of the heart. Here Joe is getting
pumped though the right ventricle.

Joe explaining to me all the surgical instruments.

Shaquille O'Neal's size 22 shoe--part of an exhibit on the wide
range of body sizes of professional athletes and the physics of sports.

The Franklin Institute had a Dead Sea Scrolls traveling exhibit when we
were there. This cylindrical jar is similar to ones that the scrolls were found
in and dates back to the first century BC to first century AD.

Ancient pottery.

An ancient bath.