Out with the Old, in with the New

This weekend we had to break down and buy Bailey a new bed. She loves her bed so much and had just worn it out. Last weekend I washed it, and when I pulled it out of the dryer, the zipper had completely broken causing the lining to hang out. I couldn't stand the way it looked. On top of all that, she had outgrown it, and when she stretched out, she would hang off the sides. We really wanted to wait until we moved to get her a new bed, but after the zipper broke, it couldn't wait. I have included some before pictures of her old bed and an after picture. Beware the after picture is ugly! Also a few pictures of her trying out her new bed for the first time. I think she likes it!!

Sometimes I wish she would be that small again.....then I remember how much work it was!

She still sleeps like that!

Plenty of room to stretch out!

The Next Step

This past month has been busy! Between Brandon's being away the majority of December for interviews and all the craziness that the holidays bring, I look back at it and wonder if December ever even happened. Just in this last month Brandon interviewed in South Carolina, Orlando, Tampa, Virginia, Alabama, and Tennessee. He had his twelth and final interview last week. We are so happy that this step in the process is over! Now the next step is to rank the programs. The rank list is due towards the middle of February and then it will be a waiting game until Match Day comes on March 18.

Nashville Christmas

This year Brandon and I were able to spend the holidays with our families in Nashville. We left Memphis on December 23rd and stayed through January 2nd. It was a much needed break from our life back in Memphis, especially after the month of interviews Brandon had been doing. It was good to see him an entire week straight! We spent Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family, Christmas Day with Brandon's mom and brothers, Saturday with my dad's side, and Sunday with Brandon's dad's side. Talk about four Christmases!! We had wonderful time visiting, talking, eating good food, and playing games with everyone!

Our Christmas Tree

Before I left Memphis, I gave the boys their Christmas presents.

Isn't he precious?

Remote Control Car!!!!!!!!

My cousins

I love this picture!

Before I go any further, I have to explain the next few pictures. The Saturday after Christmas we were at my dad's house, and he told us to all come outside. As we walked to the door an SUV drove up with this Harley on the back. He had bought a Harley Davidson a few days before and it was just now being delivered to him. We were all in shock! It has been a dream of his since I was a baby. He just recently got his motorcycle license, so I assumed it was coming, but to actually see it happen is crazy! Dad, I am happy for you! Just. be. careful!!

Bryce and Brandon testing out their ski gear.

I love my new purse!

Merry Christmas 2009!

Elf on the Shelf

Have you ever heard of Elf on the Shelf? I was introduced to it about two weeks ago and think it's such a fun tradition for families to have around Christmastime with their young children. The family I work for started it this year and Carter just seems to love it! The idea is to put the elf in a different place every morning and when the children wake up they go and find him. The elf is Santa's helper and he watches the children every day and then at night he will report back to Santa how the children were that day. The children can name him and talk to him, but cannot touch him. Carter has named his elf Bill. We have no clue where that name came from! We've also noticed better behavior in Carter because he knows Bill will go tell Santa how he is behaving. Just seeing how much fun Carter has had with it already, I know this is a fun little tradition I would like to begin in my own family one day!

St. Jude 5K and Half Marathon Weekend

Last weekend Brandon and I had some friends come in town and visit. A few months ago we talked them into coming in town and running with me in the 5K and, for those more ambitious, the half marathon with Brandon. All the girls and Ryan did the 5K, while Brandon and Owen ran the half marathon. Brandon ran his personal best in just under two hours! It was a very early and cold morning, but we had a blast!

Before the race

After the race with our medals

After Brandon finished

Owen and Brandon

Love ya!

That night we all got together for a Tacky Sweater Christmas Party! We had Central Barbecue for dinner, played games, and Dirty Santa. We also got to spend time with baby Rylan!

Brunch at Brother Juniper's

I am so glad you girls were able to come in town for the weekend! Love ya!

Thanksgiving and a Little More

Last week Brandon and I went to Nashville to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. We had basically three days to celebrate with each of our parents. Do the math....that's four times!! On Thanksgiving Day, we ate with Brandon's mother and family. The food was absolutely delicious! Then we spent the rest of the evening with my mother and her side of the family playing games. Friday, we had lunch with Brandon's grandmother in her assisted living home, did a little shopping with his dad, and later went out to his house for dinner. Once again, the food was wonderful! On Saturday, we met my father and Birgit, along with my brother and his fiance, at the movie theater to see The Blindside. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! After the movie, we went back to their house. Birgit cooked another great dinner for us. I just love the holiday season and being able to spend time with family. I wish we lived closer and our time wasn't as limited so that we wouldn't feel as rushed at each place. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and look forward to coming home for Christmas!

On Sunday, Brandon loaded up his car and drove to Atlanta for, yet another interview! He has an aunt and uncle that live in Atlanta who were kind enough to let him stay with them. From there he drove to Chattanooga for another interview. Both of the interviews went very well! He got back home Wednesday night.

Last night we bought our Christmas tree and put it up! Last year, if we remember correctly the tree we picked was the second one we looked at. Ha, not so last night! For starters, all the trees had netting on them, so we had to cut that off before we could even look at the tree. We probably cut the netting off of ten trees or more. I'm not joking. AND....my family is probably reading this thinking that I was probably being the picking one. Not so...it was the hubby!! Anyways, after about an hour later, we left with the perfect tree!

This weekend is the St. Jude Marathon! This will be the third year we have participated in it. We talked a bunch of our Nashville friends into coming into town and running it with us. They will be here tonight and we are making a whole weekend of it! Brandon and Owen are running the half marathon and then a bunch of the girls are doing the 5K! It's going to be COLD, but so much fun! I'm looking forward to it! I'll have to post some pictures of it next week! Wish us luck!

Residency Update

The last time I updated you on Brandon's residency progress, I believe he had just applied to about twenty-two programs. Since then, he heard back from all but three programs. We had heard to expect to hear back from about half of the programs, so I am proud of him! He accepted fourteen of the invites. Fourteen....holy cow!! That means from now until January he will be driving/flying to fourteen different cities and interviewing with these places. This week alone he drove to St. Louis, Louisville, Lexington, and Indianapolis! Yes, that's four interviews in one week! He seemed to be very pleased with how the interviews went. Four down, ten to go! That still sounds like a lot! He gets home tonight and I know will probably crash the rest of the weekend. He took next week off to enjoy a long, well deserved, Thanksgiving break.

We look forward to next week, as we are planning on going to Nashville Wednesday night and spending the long weekend there with our family for Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a wonderful time with their families and has a Happy Thanksgiving!