A trip through the crispy section...

¹¹ The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹⁵ The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. ¹⁷ Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. ¹⁸ Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

1 Kings 19:11-15

The Lord is our provider. Our Father loves us.

Doogie Howser

Remember Doogie Howser, M.D.? I sure do. Sometimes I feel like Doogie. Like right now, when I am typing on my blog. Other than the whole child prodigy thing, we are exactly alike.

On that note, it's time to get personal. I am doing my ICU rotation right now. It is hard. Really hard. The hours aren't so bad. Q 4 call isn't so fun, but other than that most days I am home before 5. The work itself is exhausting though. All of our patients are unstable and I feel like every decision I have to make could be the one to tip them over the edge. From day 1 of this rotation, I'm on day 6 now, I have been nothing but anxious. Anxious about misdiagnosing, ordering the wrong medications, or performing a procedure incorrectly. I really can't remember a time in my life when I have been this anxious and afraid. I think a lot of it stems from a lack of experience. I am hopeful that as I gain more experience this month I will become more confident. Having patients die within hours of admission to the ICU is also rough. That has happened several times and it is heartbreaking. After working a 30 hour shift the other day, I had to tell a mom that her son was not going to survive. As she collapsed in tears, I almost broke down too. All I could do was hug her and tell her how sorry I was. Besides the pain of knowing someone has just lost somebody important to them, the fear that a mistake was made in the patient's management is overwhelming. It is so important to go over every detail of care of a patient to identify any mistakes that were made in order to not make the same error again. Unfortunately, by the time someone comes to the ICU, the prognosis is often so poor that little can be done to improve survival. This is so frustrating.

Last night Jon and I went to our couple's Bible study and it was such a relaxing and refreshing time. Spending the time worshiping God through fellowship and music was rejuvenating. I have been praying that God will calm my anxiety and give me wisdom and good judgement to take care of my patients. The Lord has been faithful to me and provided me with just that through our small group last night. Today was a good day and I am actually excited about being on call tomorrow.

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

- Philippians 1:3-6

I hope everyone has a blessed week!

Waco Fun

This weekend Jon and I went to the town of our Alma mater, Waco. It was so much fun seeing our friends that still live there and being in the town where we spent some of the best years of our lives. Being in college is such a unique experience. There is newfound independence with very few responsibilities. After college the independence is still there, but now with a bajillion responsibilities. Anyway, back to our weekend:

Friday way finally made it to Waco after fighting our way through Houston rush hour traffic. We spent the night with two of our friends and stayed up late catching up. Saturday, Jon and I got up early and met at the Suspension Bridge for a 50 mile bike ride benefiting The Match Bone Marrow Foundation. Let me tell you, it was so refreshing to bike through the countryside outside of Waco after spending the week in Houston. Don't get me wrong, I love Houston, but sometimes I forget how beautiful Texas is when I have been in the city too long. There are few things better than biking past green pastures, rivers, and ponds with a cool breeze and some good music. An added bonus was that at each rest stop there was an abundance of candy and cookies that I could eat guilt free, knowing that I would bike off all of the calories over the next hour. After the ride, Jon and I met a bunch of our friends at a local Italian restaurant we love for lunch. We continued to catch up with friends until around 10 pm that night. We then headed back to Houston so we could still make it to church in the morning. We ended up not making it back home until 3 am due to missing a critical exit and having to drive to Conroe to pick up Wrangler. Needless to say, we didn't make it to church. Sunday was a very relaxing day full of football and studying. What a difference making Sunday a day of rest can actually have on the rest of the week.

That's my weekend wrap up! I forgot to take pictures this past weekend, but here is a picture of my dog Wrangler. He's pretty great. I hope everyone is having a great Monday and enjoying the beautiful weather!

Well, I have decided to return to the blog world. I never really kept up with this blog in the first place. I used to update another blog regularly a few years ago and I miss having that time to stop and reflect on my day.

Jon and I had a fun weekend. I am sad that it is almost over! I had Thursday and Friday off for my holiday this year. On Thursday, I went to Conroe to visit my mom and grandmother. Grandmother and I had a delicious lunch at Luby's. I don't know about you, but I find Luby's to be so comforting. Jon think's I'm crazy. I then went up to my mom's school to hang out with her during her off period. Once my mom was finished with school, we all went to the mall for an impromptu shopping spree!

Jon had Friday off as well, so we + Wrangler went camping! We had so much fun fishing, swimming, and eating hot dogs and s'mores. We even made some new friends. Saturday night we came back early because we had free tickets to see the Astros play. The Astros didn't play that well, but the Robert Earl Keen concert afterwards was awesome!

This morning we went to church and now are relaxing and watching football. I love our Sunday school class so much and am so happy that we have finally found a church home.

One thing I want to do on this blog is mention the local restaurants Jon and I discover. When Jon and I do go out to eat, we love to find local restaurants and try out the food. We also love recommendations from people, so if you have any local restaurants you love please let me know! I think having so many locally owned places to eat is something that makes living in a city fun. SO.... our most recent find is:

Hank's Ice Cream!

This ice cream is so delicious! Think of the best ice cream you have ever tasted. Hank's is better. Trust me, I've eaten a lot of ice cream. I recommend the banana pudding and cookies & coffee.

That's all for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing Sunday!

Where the Whiny Things Are

To anyone who is planning on seeing "Where the Wild Things Are":

If you enjoy whiny children, even whinier monsters, and a plotless script, then this is your movie. Otherwise, save your money. Or you can spend your money and then walk out an hour and a half into the movie. That's what we did. :(

Well, I haven't been so great about updating this blog. Maggie, I would like to apologize to you specifically. I leave for New Mexico for one month on Sunday. Being as I don't know anyone there, I'm sure I will find plenty of time to write.

Our most recent big news is that Jon got a job teaching high school biology! We are so excited! This is truly an answer to many prayers. Because Jon worked his last day at his old job last Friday and doesn't begin teaching until next Monday, we both had this past week off together. The past few months we haven't been able to see each other much because of Jon's crazy work schedule, so this time off has been great!

Last weekend we went camping by Stubblefield Lake. Jon went hunting, I kayaked, and the dogs got to run around all weekend. Most of all, we built some amazing fires and ate a lot of hot dogs and s'mores. A great time was had by all!

Jon got to dove hunt two more days this week with one of his friends and brought home some meat for us to eat. It makes me really happy when Jon gets to do things he enjoys. OH. Speaking of Jon, guess who is a swine flu survivor... Great job, Jon!

Scout update: We think we figured out what kind of dog Scout is. We were told by her previous owner that she is a boxer/pitbull mix. However, now that she is older we are realizing that she probably is not a boxer. Rather, we think she is a Basenji. Here is the description of the Basenji according to wikipedia:

"The Basenji produces an unusual yodel-like sound, due to its unusually shaped larynx. This trait also gives the Basenji the nickname "Barkless Dog."In behavior and temperament they have some traits in common with cats and are more prone to howls, yodels, and other undulated vocalizations over the characteristic bark of modern dog breeds. Basenjis dislike wet weather, like to climb, can easily get over chain wire fences, and are very clever at getting their own way. It can be described as speedy, frisky, tireless at play, and teasing the owner into play."

Thank you wikipedia. We also learned that Basenji's are very smart and learn quickly, but are very hard to discipline. They don't really care if their owner is angry at them and aren't really affected by pain. This explains so much... We bought a new crate for Scout. The crate is bigger and more inclusive. It is called "The Inclusive Crate". Basenji's hate being by themselves. We have found that if we include Scout while we do things around the house she is much happier. Here is a picture from when Scout invited me into her new house.

I'm off to go see Where the Wild Things Are! Have a great weekend!

Hi! Welcome to our blog! I love reading my friends' blogs and have been wanting to create one for awhile now. I finally have some free time in my life, so I thought now would be a good time. To those of you who were faithful followers of the blog I kept during college, hopefully the content of this one will consist of something more meaningful than scabies and John Bolton's mustache. So let the cyber version of Jon and mine's life together begin!

I thought our first post should be a review of our first year of marraige. Here are the highlights:

On June 21, 2008 we were married in Conroe. We had a wonderful celebration with our family and closest friends. We then went on our honeymoon to Costa Rica. This was the most relaxing vacation I have ever been on. When life gets hectic, Jon & I often think about our time in Costa Rica. I wish we could go on a honeymoon every year!




In September 2008 we experienced our first hurricane together! The night of the hurricane was a lot of fun. I was on my pediatrics rotation and was released from the hospital early that day. That night we gathered outside with our neighbors and watched the storm roll in. Listening to the hurricane pass over us was incredible as I fervently prayed that a tree wouldn't fall on our roof. Despite the initial excitement, we quickly grew tired of our situation. No electricity + Texas heat + a sick wife = no fun. One day we were so tired of the heat that Jon and I donated blood just so we could spend an hour in the air conditioner. Two weeks later and copious amounts of candle wax on our tables and floors, we had electricity and couldn't be happier!




In October the presidential election was off and rolling. Jon and I added a new component to our after work routine: complaining about the election. As the weeks went on, complaining turned into anger and discussing turned into shouting. Eleven months, a stomach ulcer, and numerous migraines later, and we are still going strong.

Grandmother's 90th Birthday!




Thanksgiving in San Francisco!




In December we got to meet Mike Huckabee! He was doing a book signing in downtown Houston, so we took our copy of his book and stood in line to meet the man who should have been the 2008 presidential candidate... in my opinion. Governor Huckabee was so kind to everyone who waited in line to meet him. Despite the bookstore workers' best attempts to rush everyone past him, Gov. Huckabee made sure to speak to each person. After his signing everyone walked Gov. Huckabee and his wife to their bus and cheered, "2012! 2012" as they drove away.





We went on a cruise to Mexico!



In February, we had a new addition to our family: Scout. When we first met Scout, she was a tiny boxer-pitbull puppy who instantly fell asleep in my arms. I was hooked and Jon and I brought our darling puppy home. To be honest, we are pretty sure that Scout's previous owner drugged her before we met her. Now, I have never had a puppy before, but Scout has to be the most hyper, disobedient, and obnoxious dog. I can't emphasize this enough. She is fine if she stays outside all day to get out all of her energy. Unfortunately, Scout learned how to climb fences from her brother Wrangler, so now she can't stay in the backyard unless she is chaperoned. The good news is that Scout is making progress. We are hopeful...




The next few months are a blur of patients, studying, and little sleep. Needless to say, my third year of medical school has to be one of the best years of my life. I could write a book of all that I learned from my experiences with my patients. The friendships I made during that year are so special to me and it makes me sad that we are all leaving each other in less than a year!


In May Jon graduated with a masters in biology! I am so proud of him. Though I have known Jon for 4 years now, I continue to be amazed by his thought process and knowledge. I am excited to see how the Lord will use all of the gifts and passions Jon has to touch people's lives and fulfill His purpose for Jon.


This is getting to be a VERY long post. I'm just going to conclude it now: I am often asked to describe my first year of marriage to Jon. The most accurate word continues to be, 'fun'. Not to belittle the gravity of the marital committment or the difficult moments we have had along the way. We will be the first to have a conversation with someone contemplenting marriage about the seriousness of this committment. However, with Jon as my husband, how can I not have a life full of fun and laughter? Thank you to everyone who actually read the entire post. I will try to keep them shorter in the future. I hope everyone has a great week!


I asked Jon to pass me the jar of water we were drinking from and this is what he handed me: