First Week of October

Well, this first week of October has been much more relaxed than the schedule we were on for Michael’s rotation last month. He is now doing one of his elective rotations called “Promoting Health in Urban Underserved Communities,” and he has basically had a 9-5 schedule with a lot more flexibility to get time off if he needs to, which is nice because he is taking one of his Step 2 Board exams and we are expecting the baby to come this month.

So, this week was pretty uneventful. Kolby had preschool, which he always loves. It is interesting because his classroom teacher is blind, although I don’t think that the kids really realize this. On Monday Kolby wanted to take a cut-out of a footprint that he made in his church class to show his school teacher. He was showing it to her at the beginning of class, and she was asking if she could hold it, asking what color it was, and telling him that he must have big feet if it was traced from his foot. And he loves his gym class too. Often we go about 15 minutes before the end of class and if they are wrapping up a game that is not very structured, I will let Eli join in with Kolby and the other kids. They have played freeze tag a couple times and the boys really like it. Kolby seems to be one of the only kids that really comprehends the idea – many of the others just kept running after they were tagged without waiting to be unfrozen. And on Wednesday when I went to pick him up, Kolby and another little boy named Simon were running around holding hands and they came up and Kolby told me Simon was his best friend. I let Eli run around with them, and they were holding his hands and playing great with him too. I think Eli will really enjoy going to the classes in a few months – he will be able to start in the winter session once we get back from our trips, since he will be 3 years old by then.

Well, on Wednesday I hit 36 weeks with this pregnancy. So now I have just over 3 weeks to go. I am glad we waited a while in the beginning of the pregnancy to announce to people that we were pregnant this time – I know that it’s all in my head, but it really seemed to make the remainder of the pregnancy go by much quicker than with earlier pregnancies when we announced it soon after we found out. So, on Wednesday night Michael had an AOA meeting, so I took Kolby to his swimming lesson. He is doing great. They have these little float belts that they put around the kids’ waists to give them confidence, and the kids all swam the length of the pool with those on several times in this week’s lesson, then at the end they swam a few feet from the edge of the pool to their teacher with no float belts, so that was pretty cool. It is fun to see Kolby’s confidence increase as he is now really learning how to swim.

On Thursday morning we went to the Twelmyer’s house for the family history group, and I was able to help Sister Twelmyer to learn how to search for some ancestors on the IGI online so that she can prepare the names to take to the temple. Later that afternoon I had my doctor’s appointment – I am down to the last month now, so I am having an appointment every week – and Michael was able to join us for the appointment this time. Everything is going well with the baby, and I am dilated to a 2. (I don’t really care if I’m dilated much yet or not, except that my midwife had mentioned that they would induce me a day or two after my due date, if it goes that long, but that if you get that far and are not dilated at all, they might not do it as early. So anyway, I got her to commit to inducing me on November 1st if I haven’t had the baby by the due date, which is nice to have a final date set). And Thursday night Michael took Eli to swim lessons, and said that they had a lot of fun.

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Eli decorating cookies . __ . __ . __ . __ . __ . __ . Eli licking his frosting

On Friday morning, after I dropped Kolby off at preschool, we went to Jill Hunter’s apartment for some fall activities for the kids from the apartment complex. All of the kids went outside and collected fall leaves, and then we went back in and they decorated cookies that were shaped like leaves. Eli had fun doing that. Then on Friday night we went to the Townsend’s house for our ward dessert groups, and the Sanders family came too. We had banana splits and had fun talking with the adults while all the kids played.

And this weekend has been spent watching General Conference on the internet. The boys kind of had a rough time sitting through the first session yesterday, but it seems like they are getting used to the idea of sitting quietly and watching the 2-hour sessions at a time, and they have done pretty well today (as well as you could expect for a 2- and 3-year-old, and Camden napped through most of this morning’s session). After the last session that will be starting up here in a few minutes, we will eat the roast that Michael has prepared for dinner and then he is going to head down to Chicago. He got a pretty good deal on a motel room, so he can drive down tonight and not have to get up super early in the morning and he can avoid any bad traffic tomorrow. In the morning he will take one of his two Step 2 Board exams. It is the one where they have different standardized patients and they are graded on how they give exams and take the patients’ histories. So, hopefully he will have a safe drive down there and back, and his test will go well. Then I think we are planning to go out to dinner as a family when he gets home Monday evening to celebrate him finishing his test.

Eli, Mommy, and Kolby watching Conference

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot to mention that Michael got another interview invitation this week. He got an e-mail saying that he is on the early invite list for the transitional year program in Salt Lake, and that they will let him know the dates for that interview shortly. So things are all going pretty well. I’d better run get the computer set up now so we can catch the last session of Conference. Hope you all had a great week!

Trauma is Almost Done!!!

Well, I’m finally home on a Sunday this month, so I guess it is my turn to write and say hi. Trauma continues to be busy, busy, busy. I had my last overnight call for this rotation on Friday (yeah!!), and just like the other ones, we were busy all night long – lots of accidents and lots of sick people. It has been an interesting month, with things that I will probably never see or do again in the future, so that has been cool. But the hours are just so long that it begins to wear on you by the end of the month. I just have a few more days this next week and then my test on Thursday.

This month I have learned that those who end up in our trauma bay do so due to a lack of common sense in a few different areas: 1) wear a helmet when you ride a motorcycle; 2) wear your seatbelt in the car; 3) don’t drink alcohol because it can lead to 4) knife wounds and 5) gunshot wounds.

Earlier this week we met with Kendra McMullin, a member from the ward that works with a financial company. She came to do a free financial needs assessment. Basically, they look over your current assets and your goals for the short and long term, and then they come back with things you can do to reach those goals. Some of their big messages are to pay yourself first, including life insurance, short term coverage (an emergency fund to cover up to a year), and then long term retirement savings. She had some really good things for us to think about as we will be getting into the salary stage of our life next year.

Steph took the boys to swim lessons this week and says they both continue to be little fish in the water. The boys also have an art class at a ward member’s house every Thursday morning where they do little crafts each week and have a fun time playing with the other kids.
Thursday night one of my home teaching families – the Stouffers – were moving to Ohio to start residency, so we helped them pack the truck. It is so weird to see all these recently graduated students leaving to start new adventures in residency, and then to realize that will be us just next year. Graduation is coming so fast – it is May 16, 2008, and anyone is invited to join us for that weekend.

It has been so nice to be home with the family today and to be able to go to church together – I missed that last weekend. In sacrament meeting we learned about the importance of fasting and fast offerings and keeping the Sabbath day holy – it is so nice to have one day a week set aside to escape from the normal routine and spend time at church feeling the spirit and being with the family. In Sunday school we discussed Matthew 25 that talks about the parable of the 10 virgins, the parable of the talents, and the parable of the sheep and the goats. Basically, we have to endure to the end and constantly strive to do what is right and develop the gifts we have been given, and then use those gifts and abilities to help others. I missed most of the priesthood meeting because Camden decided he wanted to be loud and talk. So he and I walked around outside for a little to calm him down. Luckily the weather is so nice right now – I love it. This afternoon I went and visited with Steve and Kara Pothier for home teaching, and then our home teachers just left from visiting with us. We are cooking a roast and are having a new family, the Townsends, over for dinner.

Congratulations to Mel and Christian for finding out that they are having another boy – that is so exciting. And we love hearing from all of you and how your lives are going.