2008: A Year in Pictures:
(many you have seen...but enjoy)


December 08: Asia in front of the tree
December 08: JT and Me at his Mamaw's Christmas
December 08: Posing with the Creepy glamor shots at Mom's
November 08: At the Melting Pot for JT's birthday
November 08: Thanksgiving Rock Band
November 08: Me with my baby
November 08: Thanksgiving with Terri's family



October 2008: our apartment the day of our moveSeptember 08: JT and I with our favorite waiter just before our move
September 08: JT and I on the Brooklyn Bridge
September 08: the great fry place
August 08: the view from our apartment
August 2008: Cubs vs Mets
July 2008: JT running the NYC Half Marathon
June 08: Our car purchase in Connecticut
June 08: A visit to the Statue of Liberty with JT's parents
May 2008: JT with marines at Fleet Week
May 08: Me at Fleet Week
May 2008: Fleet Week
April 2008: Me, my sister in law, and JT's mamaw on a visit to KY
April 2008: Bryant Park
March 2008: The first day warm enough to walk around the city...
March 2008: Outside Fashion Week (maybe it was in February)

March 2008: At the American Museum of Natural History

February 2008: The theatre where we saw Cat on a Hot Roof. February 2008: We added a desk to our tiny Astoria apartment.
February 2008: My friend took this picture on the Brooklyn Bridge

Fourth Year....

So I finished my surgery rotation last week. Surgery was my last required core clinical rotation. Thus, now, I am officially a 4th year medical student. I have 24 weeks of medical school until I graduate. After that, I will be a real doctor...although I can not practice until I complete my residency (which I will start in June 2010). Nevertheless, there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Now, the task ahead me is to choose a specialty. I am still praying about it and looking for the field that is best for me and my future. JT got me a book for Christmas entitled To Be Told. It forces you to examine your past and your life "story" to see where God is leading you in future decisions. That description does not adequately do the book justice. However, it will not tell you directly what to choose but it is helping guide me towards what may be fitting to my "story." Sorry if that is too, um, philosophical.

Anyways, I am quite excited about starting my elective rotations. Next Monday I start at the University of Tennessee Knoxville in a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation rotation. I am going to stay with my sister during the week and come home on the weekends. Luckily, this rotation does not have call. Hopefully, I won't have too many more rotations with over night call....just my peds rotation, I think.

For those who are interested in where I will be until I finish....

January 09: University of Tennessee Knoxville: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
February 09: Somerset, KY: 2 weeks of Cardiology; first of half of my second board exam
March 09: University of Tennessee Chattanooga: Pediatric junior internship
April-August 09: Somerset, KY: completing the other rotations I am working on scheduling
June 09: Glasgow, KY: Family Practice junior internship.

Christmas in Louisville....

We left last Tuesday late afternoon to head to Louisville to see JT's family. It was an enjoyable holiday made better by the fact that JT's parents were off of work the entire time. On Christmas Eve, we attended Southeast Christian Church, the mega-church in Louisville where JT's parents go. The service was beautiful and reminded me of why I really love the Christmas holiday. We were able to spend Christmas Day with JT's family and importantly his grandma "mamaw". On Friday, we exchanged gifts with JT's parents, and my brother-in-law Daniel and his wife Denise. They got me the book "The Hour I First Believed" by Wally Lamb. I am looking very forward to reading. Earlier that day we drove to Pleasureville, KY to place wreaths on the headstones of my father-in-law's family graves.
We had tons of fun on Saturday. JT's long time friend Phillip, and his wife Abby and two daughters (Annie and Amelia) came over for lunch. Later that evening before driving back to Somerset, we met my friend Sarah and her boyfriend Zach for sushi. So we did two of the things we can't do in Somerset.....sushi and Starbucks.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Me and Asia in front of the Christmas Tree
A house with life size wise men and camels....but there was no Jesus...
JT reading the letter written to him on his first Christmas from his great aunt, Delores
JT and Phillip
JT with Phillip's adorable daughter Annie

Quick Update....

Well after much urging from my sister, I updated the blog and changed the music. (she is a scrooge).... Plus Christmas is over and I was wanting a change. I hope you like the background and music. If you have any musical suggestions...I would love to know.
We are getting ready to have dinner with my great friend Sarah and her boyfriend, Zach. SUSHI. Something we do not have in Somerset. Afterwards we are heading back home. I love visiting family...but man I miss our bed!
I will post more tomorrow once I get home.
~nat

Santa's Workshop

If you were to go the North Pole, this is what it may look like; at least, this is what JT and I decided at my mom's this weekend. Now, I am not making fun of my mother because I am sure I will decorate like crazy, but all she was missing were elves. I guess you will see that she loves snowmen.... We had a great time. My step siblings, Ashley and Wes, came in. Gretchen was there, although she slept most of the time because she worked the night before. My mom, of course, made lots of great food...all of our favorites.... Things like vegetable pizza, puppy chow, chex mix, sour dough cookies, hay stacks, "magic" bars, marinated veggies, cheese ball, mexican dip, sausage balls, meatballs, and more than that....I feel disgusting today.

I have two more days of surgery left and then we are heading to JT's family for Christmas day! I hope you enjoy the pictures. Have a great week.

looking into the living room, a glimpse of the snowmen


Have you ever seen a snowman nativity scene

JT and Kayla in mom's kitchen

the small tree with sentimental ornaments....like our first Christmas, mine and Melissa Brown's best friend ornament in 1998 and so on

The foyer
The Christmas tree, yes there is a tree under there

The guest bathroom
The kitchen

So I know it is Weird, but....

At one point in my life, my mom thought it was a good idea for us to take Glamour Shots. Keep in mind this was in the early to mid 90s. So when I walked into my mom's on Saturday and saw 20x30 portraits of me and Gretchen on the fridge...I was, well, shocked, to say the least. JT laughed that I looked liked JonBenet Ramsey with a uni-brow (God rest her soul) and Gretchen looked like the object of a pedophiles obsession. I know that may sound sick and corrupted but really, look at the pictures. Before you take your kids to Glamour Shots, think about this. Think hard about it.

I was wearing more make-up than I am now....
Gretchen, loving the lime light
Me...ugh, and the awkward picture hanging above me of my grandparents...making the situation even more weird.

Christmas Parties like Crazy.....

We never thought we could be popular....But this week we had three Christmas parties, none of which included getting together at our parents...not really at least. On Wednesday night, my dad's brother Rod (yes his name is Rod Stewart), had the local family over. Thursday during the day, the neurosurgeons I am working with had an open house and in the evening had their Christmas dinner. Then, Friday night, JT's office (which is my dad's office too) had their dinner here at Dad's house. We were crazy busy...then Saturday morning we got up and drove to have Christmas with my mom. Here are some pics of the Christmas party with my dad's office.

only about half of the food and one Terri's trees


JT and I at the party...not our best picture
Dad and Terri

ROCKBAND

This was our Thanksgiving Day rockband....Craig, my stepbro in the back, Gretch in the pink glases, me in the ACDC and JT, the lead singer and my hubby in the front. (I look awful in this pic wearing Gretchen's oversized ACDC shirt with a built in cement colored thermal underneath and too much liquid eyeliner) I hope you enjoy!

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas....

So I love Christmas. I love everything about it. I get that honestly, from my mother. When we moved to NYC, we did not have room to store our tree so we gave it to Goodwill. Last year, we had a small, real tree in our tiny Queens apartment. This year we were still reluctant about getting one... However, today, JT and I were both in the Christmas spirit. We went to Wal-Mart and bought a six foot pre-lit tree, which have come a long since their inception. We also bought the basic ball ornaments in gold and red. We pulled our nativity scene and stockings out of storage...And boom, a little Christmas in our basement quarters. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Our tree, though it is much prettier in the dark

Our stockings. We bought these in Pigeon Forge, TN during in December 2002, before we were even married. They are the only Christmas decorations that have followed us through all of the moves.

Our Nativity set....one of our black sheep has fractured front legs, poor guy.

This picture does not do it justice, but this is the Christmas ornament my friend Eunice bought me while she was in Bejing, China. This is one I will keep forever.