Winter Traditions

We have been in Utah for the holidays and have been spending the first couple of days with my family. Some of the fun traditions that we have been enjoying with grandma and grandpa have been ice skating (my mom usually has an ice rink in the back yard, but this year was out of commission - so we went to an ice rink instead). Liezl and Quincy loved it! We had a blast decorating our family gingerbread house. Gingerbread houses have always been a fun tradition growing up. My mom worked so hard to provide the building supplies for seven houses and we had a decorating party. The girls loved sticking all of the candy they could find on the house. After they were done, I was able to put some artistic touches on it and Josh was the construction man who made the sturdiest gingerbread house possible. Another fun tradition was the annual Nerf war. We have never attended this before, so I did not know what to expect. It was pretty intense. Josh had a war plan, alliances set, and a big blockade built with a pile of back-up guns. Liezl had her cardboard shield set up in the middle of the room so she could be safe and still be in the middle of the action. Quincy and I sat behind our overturned table gathering amo for daddy.

O H I O

Our family received some life changing news yesterday. I know that sounds somewhat dramatic, don't worry - it is great news. Josh will be graduating from medical school in May and he just got accepted to the surgical residency program in Dayton, Ohio. We have been looking forward to yesterday for a long time now, and we are very pleased with the outcome. Now that we have this information, I am realizing how close we are to graduation and our next phase of life. I can not say that these last four years have gone by quickly or have been at all easy, but I would not trade them for anything. I am so grateful for and proud of Josh for so well in school and prioritizing time for his family and church responsibilities along with his crazy busy schedule.

Josh studying with Liezl in our first year of medical school.White coat ceremony during first year.Josh with important surgery people at a gathering Josh and his surgery interest group put together during second year.

Josh and Quincy studying during third year.

Hanging out together in Florida after a short day of Josh's family practice rotation.

Liezl dressing up in Josh's surgery gear which he wore during fourth year.

Trimming the tree

My earlier post about Liezl and Quincy's Christmas tree ended with it pink and fancy - this is the rest of the story:

Liezl dug through all of her secret stashes of fancy things to decorate the beautiful pink tree. A lot of these things I had no idea she had stashed away; like an assortment of beads from broken bracelets and necklaces, fancy barbie shoes, sequins that had fallen off a dress up item, some of my long lost necklaces, and a couple of Quincy's baby headbands. Then she realized that all of her most prized possessions were on display, and she could not keep them safe from her sister. After a couple of fights and time-outs, she decided it was not worth it and put all of the treasures back to their hiding places. Every day since, Liezl has been busy making ornaments for the tree out of construction paper. She cuts out a shape, draws a Christmas specific item on it, and then pokes it on a pink branch. After a week of making about five to ten a day, the tree is not too pink anymore. In fact, you can not see any of the tree - it's just a pyramid of construction paper. I did say it was their tree to decorate, and it is fun to see all of time she is putting into each of the pictures on each ornament (Cindy Lou hoo, three wise men, Grandma and Emee's houses with Christmas lights, and snow ball fights with daddy - just to name a few), but I am beginning to worry about the fire hazard. It is still serving as the night light and it puts off a gentle pink glow for the girls to fall asleep to. I am tempted to take off a few to see if she notices the tree with only two ornaments on each branch as opposed to the five or six piled on top of each other.

Can't live with us, can't live without us

Sunday morning was not the smoothest morning and Josh was probably realizing a little more of what it meant to live in a house full of girls. I don't know what it is about Sunday mornings but, at least in my experience, no matter how much primping and preparation, there is usually something in the mirror us girls are not pleased with. Growing up with four sisters, there would be at least one of us with a wardrobe, hair, or complexion problem. There were some choice Sundays, however, where all of us would have self image meltdowns. This Sunday was our family's first (of probably many) hormone crazy mornings. Liezl was having problems with hair, socks, and shoes. Quincy was also having problems with her outfit and shoes. And for some reason, I could not decide between the two dresses that fit me right now and had to switch them a number of times. Poor Josh went from one frazzled girl to the next. After an amazing amount of patience - he made the comment, "Now I know why your dad would always walk to church early. Too bad our building is so far away." Thanks Josh for being the best dad and husband and having such a great attitude, and sorry again about Sunday and many more to come. (We did all make it on time to church with tears wiped away and no tights on our legs.)