New Stove

James gave me a new stove for the kitchen as a Christmas gift, and I love it...here are the before and after pictures...

This was the old stove that came with our house. The burners tilted to the side, and several of the buttons and knobs were missing...



















You can tell how old and rusty it was...














This burner was the worst - all the contents of your pan would slide to one side b/c the burner wouldn't lay flat.














The clock/timer was broken, of course.














NEW STOVE!!!!!



















Digital read-out with all kinds of fun buttons!














Cast iron burner grates with gas burners.














Huge oven...5.2 square feet!














I am delighted, to say the least!

Christmas!

This was our first Christmas away from our families, but we still had a great day. Here are some pictures!

Our tree...nine feet tall!!



















James sitting by the presents, under the tree



















The present pile - we had things to open from each other, my parents, James's parents, all of our brothers and sisters, and my grandmother!














James and Max were eager to open presents, but I made them pose for a few pictures first.



















My nana sent me a pretty white tea set!






































Pretty flower arrangement from Rita Riley














Chocolate reindeer on each place setting at the table...














We had friends over for Christmas brunch, and this was the table setting...














Stockings...(guess which one belongs to Max?)














Max put on his reindeer ears for a few minutes...



















James plays with his toys under the tree.














Tired after a long, fun day...

BRRRRRR....................

As those of you in the Deep South may not realize, the Midwest has been in the grip of a cold snap and several winter storms over the past week. Don't believe me? Yesterday I went to the grocery store, and the Salvation Army bell-ringer had come INSIDE to ring the bell!!

Thanksgiving and Birthday

James and I went to Georgia for Thanksgiving and my birthday (which was a few days later). We had a BIG dinner, and it was fun!!

Mom and Anna Kate














Me and Tyler














Tom, Madeline, and Meghan














AK enjoyed her dinner!!

Halloween Fun

October was an extremely busy month for us. James has been the nightfloat resident this month, which means that he works the night shift from Sunday-Friday, as well as a 30-hour shift on Sunday-Monday morning. It's EXHAUSTING, and I've been working extra hours moonlighting to pay for some of the things that we need to fix around the house.

We did, however, manage to have some fun this month! One Saturday afternoon, I had my friend Kim over to make cupcakes, and we decorated them with candy. The guys in the neurosurgery department ate them all in about 2 days.

Here's Kim...














Some of our finest...















James and I also got a pumpkin to carve for our front steps. James did all of the work on that one, b/c my art skills are nonexistent.

Before...















The surgeon at work....a small glimpse of what James does all day...















He had already drawn the face on it at this point, but you can't tell from the picture...















And the finished product! James named him Julius the Jack-o-lantern.

Trip Home Last Week

James and I went to visit my parents in Georgia last week, and we had a great time! Jordan's birthday party, visit to see the babies in Augusta, I got to hang out with my sister and her new husband and play with her ADORABLE new puppies, James beat an Xbox 360 game, James ALMOST beat a Playstation 3 game, and we had dinner with Jordan and Sarah in Atlanta!

Jackson Hole Trip

I just realized that I never posted my pictures from the Pastors' Summit trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We had a great time, and next time I want to take James out there!

The mountains in the national park were like nothing I've ever seen before.






























Bob and Janet Burns...















One of the gorgeous waterfalls






























Erin Guthrie and I with our new bear buddy...



















The mountaintop barbecue site...





























Denise, me, and Caroline...















Our resort, the Snow King...















At the top of the ski lift (yes, it was July...)















Denise and Michael riding the alpine slide!

Where James Lives....

I thought that everyone might be interested in seeing the place where James spends at least 16 hours each day....often well over 100 hours per week....Barnes-Jewish Hospital!!!

We'll Miss You, Tony

A week ago, James and I lost a very dear friend to an incurable brain tumor. His name was Tony Milin, and he was in James's class at Wash U. Tony was a sweet, fun, kind, happy guy, and we spent hours on end hanging out with him and talking. I know that for the rest of his life, James will never operate on a patient with a brain tumor without remembering his oldest friend from medical school. We'll miss you, Tony...