Sewing, Reading, Building, & Talking

Hmmmmm... so where do I begin… we have had a good week, but nothing out of the norm for us. I worked my three days Mon-Wed, and then I was off the rest of the week. I really like having those two days off a week for myself, it is nice to be able to have time to get things done here at home AND be creative/crafty. I have been doing lots of clever thing with my time, the other week I got the bright idea to make myself a dress, not big deal right… well I did not have a pattern, so I just busted out my sewing gear and went to work. I would say the finished project turned out pretty good considering the above facts, just not good enough to post any pictures. It still not finished, after 2 ½ days of working on it I decided I needed a break. So it is hanging in the closet until I pull it out with my ingenious idea of how to fix it. I did however insert my first zipper, I am quite proud! If anything, this dress project was a fun learning experience. I hope to do more sewing in the future.

Stewart got a book called “The Undaunted” written by Gerald N. Lund, for Christmas from my parents. We have started reading the book together, and so far have enjoyed ourselves. Stewart and I have tried reading books together before, but I have always lost interested in the books far before we finished them. This time the book has just enough history for Stewart and love story for me. If we can find more books like this, I think Stewart’s dream of having a wife who likes to read with him may come true.

The other day I got a phone call from a friend with two kiddos; she needed a time out from her kids so she asked if I would take them for a few hours, I was happy to help. We had a fun time, me and the kids; we decided since it was raining outside we needed to build the ultimate fort in our living room. Complete with a TV to watch Tarzan. Below is the fruit of our labor. I think this has been the best fort ever made… by me that is. After the kids went home I decided that a masterpiece this beautiful was worth leaving up until the next day (we needed to get our full use of it). Needless to say Stewart and I ate dinner and read our book in the fort that night. Oh the joys of simple pleasures. PS. this tent was made possible only because of the many quilts Stewart and I have inherited from our grandparents and parents... thanks!

Entrance

Side View

The inside

Today Stewart spoke in church, he was called late Friday night to fill in for someone who was unable to make it today. He spoke on service. Stewart seems to have a natural gift to be sincere, funny, and hold people's attention while speaking. He did a great job and received many complements. He informs me that the text of his talk will be published in next months Ensign… J/K. It was a great talk anyway.

Well, I believe that sums up our week. We are both doing fantastic and enjoying this season of life. Love Your Guts!

Church hopping

Becky had a craving for pretzels today so she asked that I fill you in on what’s been going on while she’s in the kitchen cooking. I love it when she gets a craving for some tasty food because then I get to have some of it too. Maybe I’ll post a picture of her pretzels when she’s done.

Okay let me tell you about our unusual Sunday last week. Just before we got in the car to go to church we got a phone call telling us that church was cancelled. Apparently one of the pipes in the fire suppression system was broken and you can’t have a bunch of people meeting in a building with no fire suppression system. Well there we were, all dressed up and no place to go. So, for fun, we got on the internet and found a Methodist church that had a meeting at 9. It was actually just down the street from our house. We went to a Methodist worship service. The building was much bigger than I’m used to, and it was very ornate with a large beautiful creche up front. I love big stain glass windows. The sanctuary wasn’t very full. There were a few young families with children, but most of the congregation was older people. The music was Christian contemporary. It was the first Sunday after Epiphany and so the message focused on the Wisemen. They blessed the Communion and invited everyone to come up and take it, Becky and I graciously declined. The sacrament prayer in an LDS church lasts about 10 seconds. But in the Methodist meeting the priest has a 5 min. teaching that he gives about the sacrament. It’s neat how they remember the meaning of the sacrament. After the worship service Becky and I came home. I was having so much fun that I looked up another meeting for another church. Becky stayed home to prepare dinner for some guests we had coming over. I went to the Old Greystone Presbyterian Church. The building they meet in is over 200 yrs old! It sits up on top of the hill and, in my mind, represents the blood and sweat of the early inhabitants of Lewisburg. The interior reminded me of pictures I’ve seen of the Kirtland temple, although it predates the Kirtland temple by several years. It was beautiful in a different sort of way. It was elegant because of what it represented. There were no stain glass windows, but it was still charming. Again, most of the congregation was older couples. There were a few young families, but not many. I was reminded of articles I’ve read recently describing a cultural shift away from organized religion. I think it’s sad. Anyway, the music in the Presbyterian church was more familiar to me. There was a big organ in the balcony behind us and the organist played it with all the stops out. There was a choir up by the organ too. They sounded really good. We sang good Christian standby’s that I was familiar with, though some of the words were different than I was used to. There weren’t a lot of us in the sanctuary, but we made a lot of noise; it was fun. There was no mention made of the communion, which surprised me. So that was our little field trip into other parts of Christendom. Today everything was fixed so we held our regular service at our church. It was good to be back “home.”

The rest of the week has gone well for Becky and I. She worked the first part of the week and had the last part to work on various projects that she has going here at home. I had an interesting experience at school this week. A group of instructors came from a medical school in Virginia to teach us how to do male and female exams. We met as a group of 2 or 3 students and one instructor in an exam room. The instructor used his or her body to demonstrate how to do the exam. We each got an opportunity to do the exam. It was very instructional, and not as awkward as we were all expecting. It will help a lot when the time comes for me to do those sorts of examinations on real patients.
We wish you all the very best of everything!

Stewart's Creativity at Work

During Thanksgiving break Becky and I took a trip to Beckley. We stopped at a store called Hobby Lobby so that Becky could look for some supplies for a project she’s working on. She didn’t find anything she wanted, but while wandering around the store my creative juices began flowing. I decided to purchase a wooden bird house, some wooden people, some paint, and paintbrushes. Becky thought I was going crazy, but she went along with it.

I worked on my new project 2 or 3 evenings per week. It was a great release from my studies. I’ve never done anything like this before and so I was nervous about how it would turn out. I was able to finish it during Christmas break and I must say that I’m pleased with it. I think I did pretty good work. It’s kind of a neat feeling to make something with your hands. Here are some before and after pics:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Bowling in 2010

A group of us med-student families got together on New Years Day and went bowling. After a while when we were all getting tired, the group of us broke up into teams… every couple was there own team. Stewart and I actually did amazing working together! We bowled a 157 breaking both of our single high score records! I guess that goes to show what team work can accomplish. Enjoy the pictures!

Here it the proof you all needed... we really did get a 157

Christmas, Baltimore, and a Happy New Year!!!

We have a lot to fill you in on… Stewart and I have been super busy taking advantage of his time off from school. For Christmas we stayed here in Lewisburg. This was our first time being away from family for Christmas. It was not too bad, although very different than what I am used to. Stewart and I were able to start our own family traditions, which was fun to do. The Monday before Christmas we had our friends the Rodebacks over to make graham cracker houses with us. This was a family tradition that I had with my family that I have carried over. This year we ended up making a train, I think it turned out sweet!

On Christmas day Stewart and I woke up, we decided to read the Christmas Story in bed before we got out. I think this was one of my favorite times during the day. There was such a peaceful feeling in our home while we read the account of Mary and Joseph, and the birth our Savior Jesus Christ. We also read in the Book of Mormon account, with Samuel the Lamanite telling of the signs of His birth, and then the account of Nephi the prophet who believed the words of Samuel in 3rd Nephi. It was a great way to start the day, by remembering why we have a Christmas day and the significance of it. After our morning devotional we went and checked out what Santa brought us… he was very practical this year. We got things that we needed, such as a new scrub brush to do dishes with, mouth wash, new toothbrushes, soup, and oranges. We then opened our gifts, Stewart gave me two small spring loaded pans (that I helped pick out) and I gave Stewart a Cut and Assemble Book (that he helped me pick out). We also got a few gifts from our parents and friends. Thanks to everyone who helped make our Christmas wonderful! Later that afternoon, we had dinner with some other med school students and played games. We had a very Merry Christmas, and hope you all did too!

Stewart Christmas Morning

Becky and her Goodies

Why did Santa bring me Mouth Wash???

Stewart's mother put together this nice calender for us... Stewart is thumbing thru it for the first time.

This is my Christmas gift from Stewart... my favorite thing about it was how he wrapped it. A friend came over and she saw it, her first words were it looks like my 5 year old wrapped it... funny.

Stewart and I decided that during his Christmas brake we were going to take the opportunity to go to Washington DC again and go to the temple and explore the sights found there. So on December 29th we left Lewisburg and drove to DC. We went to the temple when we got there, and then we drove over to Laurel Maryland to stay with some extended family, John and Sandi Mumford, on Stewart’s side of the family. They were super nice to let us stay there for a few days, while we were in the area. On Wednesday we went to the National Aquarium, located in Maryland on Baltimore’s inner harbor. We had a blast there looking at the all the different fish, and exhibits there. The tickets we bought included a dolphin show; it was super neat to watch them perform. I think however, between Stewart and I, our favorite part was the jelly fish exhibits and the very large sting ray pool they had displayed at the very beginning of the museum. There was something about those two exhibits that were so calming to watch. We took some short videos of them so you can enjoy them too, but I would suggest turning your volume off to view the sting ray pools, the background nose of all the people is kind of disturbing otherwise. After our time at the aquarium we went out on the harbor and explored more. There was a large ship used in the navy during WWII at Pearl Harbor, stationed at one of the docks so we stopped and took some pictures by it. Then we went to Barns and Noble and looked at all the books for a while. By that time we were getting cold and tired so we went back to the Mumfords. That evening we went back to the DC temple. They have a mini-light display, similar to Temple Square’s but smaller. The visitor’s center which is right next to the temple was set up with several nativity sets from all around the world. They also had a performance from a Sweet Adeline (women’s barbershop) group which was neat to hear. After exploring the lights we met up with Josh W. one of Stewart’s former roommates from ISU; he picked us up and took us out for dessert. It was great to see him again, we are grateful he made time in his busy schedule to visit with us.

This is an octopus... well part of him anyway

Stewart waiting for the Dolphin show

This is an Amazing video of two of the dolphins doing flips

On Thursday we packed our stuff up and headed back to Lewisburg. On the way home we stopped at a museum about “Stonewall” Jackson, a General in the Civil War. The Museum was nice but both Stewart and I agree that it would have been better if we had read up on him before so that it all made sense. We got home around 4:30pm that day, time enough to unpack, eat dinner, and get geared up to go to our New Year’s Eve party with some friends.

Which now leads me to say… HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE! We hope this year is a great one filled with many significant experiences that will bless your life for years to come. Stewart and I look over the year 2009 and feel very blessed and honored. We have been richly blessed, there is no denying that. To everyone who reads this blog… we love your GUTS!!!

Work, Tests, and WV Winter Storm

These past two weeks have been one of business for both Stewart and myself. Stewart was preparing for his last BIG test of the year and I was busy impressing my new employer with my mad receptionist skills. Yes… you read that right I got a JOB!!! I had the job at the museum but it did not workout due to complications on how I was hired., so instead of just leaving the museum with bitter feelings I kept going there as a volunteer a few hours a week. Well one day the director of the museum called me and said she had a job for me to look into. It was a new pediatric dentist office about a mile from my house. I called the number she gave me, the lady that answered told me about the job… it sounded great except it was a 35 plus hours a week job and I wanted 20 or less hours a week. I told the lady that I wanted to discuss it with my husband and if I was interested I would drop my resume off to her in the next few days. Well Stewart and I decided that we were not interested in the job due to the hours… and that was that, until the next day when the dental office called me up asking me when I was bringing in my resume. I explained my reasons for not wanting the job… she asked me to bring in my resume anyway and we could talk about a part time possibility. Long story short I got the job and the hours I wanted to work. Merry Christmas to Stewart and Me! I have been very busy since trying to learn their specific dental office computer program. So far I really love the job and the environment. It seems to be a good match for me.

Stewart says: I took my big test on Friday. I paced myself better this time, so I had a little extra time to look over my answers and polish them up a bit. I feel good about my answers. I’m confident that I passed the test, and that’s all that matters. It was such a relief to walk out of that room and realize that I am a free man (for about 3 weeks). I felt a burden lifted from off my shoulders. I’m pleased with the hard work that both Becky and I did during this semester. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m grateful that she’s stayed by my side through it all.

Other news… we got more snow, and by more snow I mean lots and lots of snow in 12ish hours! It started snowing Friday afternoon after Stewart finished his test, and kept on snowing until Saturday afternoon. We are still getting snow fall here and there and the main roads and highways have been shut down. Stewart and I can’t move our car because the parking lot is so packed with snow; we need a snow plow to clear it out first. We have contacted our landlord… who knows when he will get around to it… I hope soon because I have work in the morning.

We have had fun playing in the snow though. Stewart was asked to feed a fellow student’s cats while she was out of town. She lives close to a mile away from us. Since we are snowed in we have been trekking over there on foot to take care of them. We had a lot of fun pushing each other into the snow banks… It is a winter wonderland outside and it is for certain we will have a very white Christmas. Stewart thought it would be smart to document the snow fall every 2 hours so that we could have a picture journal of this year’s 2009 West Virginia Winter Storm. The following pictures are proof that it has indeed snowed a lot here:

Friday Dec. 18, 2009- 2:00 pm

Friday Dec. 18, 2009- 4:00 pm

*

Friday Dec. 18, 2009- 6:00 pm

Friday Dec. 18, 2009- 8:00 pm

Okay, so maybe we fudged the climate data a little bit. But who doesn’t fudge a little climate data every now and then? However we had a blast taking them! And since we love taking pictures here are a few more of our snowy adventures. Loves!!

Mr. Malibu... playing in the snow

Stewart burried Becky in the snow... it was cold (why did I let him do this to me?)

Stewart, stole our neighbor's snow shovel... good thing he won't be home for a while, we might need it longer then a few hours.

On our way to feed them Cats (hey Mom... how do you like Stewart's hat?)

Still working our way over to feed them cats... look how narrow the road is (Margie do you like my hat?).