HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

HAPPY 3RD ANNIVERSARY JIM

THESE PAST 3 YEARS HAVE BEEN FILLED WITH WONDERFUL MEMORIES. I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE WHAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED IN 3 YEARS. WE BOUGHT OUR FIRST HOUSE, WE ARE SELLING OUR FIRST HOUSE, WE HAVE MOVED TO TENNESSEE, AND BEST OF ALL, YOU ARE ALMOST DONE WITH YOUR FIRST YEAR OF MEDICAL SCHOOL. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR US FOR THE NEXT YEAR. I LOVE YOU MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY!

LOVE YOU ALWAYS AND FOREVER

Wedding Party

Recption Hall

My Sister and Brother

FINALLY !?!?!

Well, I think it is offical. I think i am going to be moved to Tenn by this weekend! I just have to get through 2 more partners here at work, and I think then we are good to go! We are hosting a Christmakkah party this coming Wednesday! I am so excited to be able to be down there for this. We are going to have a great time. We are catering food from Portillo's, since no one has ever had it before. It is going to be tasty!!!



On other news, Jim is coming to the end of his first semester for medical school! Can you belive it? I can't. He has done so well so far. He just needs to get through 2 more sets of exams. WE are goign to be putting up our Christmas stuff this weekend at the house. Christmas is my favorite time of the year.

MOVED IN

Well, sort of. I am still in Chicago, and Jim is in TN. We moved into the new house in Harrogate, what a trip that was. Dad and I drove the truck down on Thursday, Nov 1. we get down there walk into the house and there was crap all over the place. The contractor who was doing work on the house never cleaned anything up. Jim call the landlord and asked him what was going on. Needless to say, we couldn't start unpacking the truck like was orginally planned. So we drove back to the other house in LaFollette that night. Friday, the contractor was supposed to show up at 8am...he didn't. Dad and I started cleaning the house with the cleaning supplies I could get that was in the front of the truck. As this was going on, DirectTV came to install our cable. Pest control came to take care of the mouse problem (yes, mice!), and a cleaning crew came in later in the day to clean what I was NOT going to clean. Friday afternoon we were able to finally start emptying the truck. Jim had a couple of buddies come and unload the big stuff. So Friday and Saturday were very busy days trying to get the house in order because Sunday, dad and I were flying back to Chicago. Here are a few pictures of the house.

Kitchen

Front of house

dining room

our bedroom

guest bedroom/office

MOVING!!!

It is official, I am moving down to TN November 1! The condo still hasn't sold yet, but this long distance crap is for the birds. We are moving into a house that is 2 miles from the school. Now Jim won't have an hour drive everyday to and from school everyday. We will be able to spend more time together as well. This could not have worked out more perfectly. I got the final ok from work last week that I will be working remotely from TN and travel back up to Chicago once a month. Also, the house that we are currently renting the lady who owns it sold it last weekend, so we had to move out anyways. We have been planning on moving out of there for the last few weeks.

Jim took his second round of test last week and did very well on them. He was anywhere from 2 to 13 points higher then the average of the class. He is really in his element and is working very hard. He is also a student ambassordor, so twice during the year, he will be able to take interviewees around campus and tell them about the school. He is really excited for that!

Next weekend, my parents, Jim's parents and myself are traveling down to DCOM for Jim's white coat ceremony. We are so excited for that. I will update after that and explain and hopefully post some pictures.

Well that is it for now. Jim should be updating everyone on how is progress is going.

Pass First Set of Tests....Check‏

Sorry it has been a couple of weeks since my last email update, but life was going crazy for awhile. We just finished up our first round of tests and everything went really well. I passed everything and did pretty well. My lowest grade was in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) and I got an 83 on the written exam (I took the lab portion today and got only one thing wrong, so that is nice too because my overall grade should increase to close to 90). My other subjects was an 85 or better, which I am very thankful for. In each written section, I got about 10 points above the class average and I was about 15 points above average for the anatomy lab portion. Thankfully, I did well in everything and put myself in a really good starting position for school, and although we have not received any official yet (I will at the end of the semester I believe), I think I have put myself in the top 25% or so of the class. I really can't ask for more than that. But I have learned a good lesson though over the last few days though. You see, last weekend did not consist of any studying at all. Before you fall over in disbelief, every other student did the same thing, and the school encouraged it as well (I'll get to that in a minute). The week leading up to the exam was insane with the amount of studying that was being done. But after a test, the brain just needs a nice rest. I went golfing on Saturday in Kentucky (I shot an 83, with a few mulligans) and watched the race. Then came Sunday and a school-sponsored event......white water rafting. This was something school has been planning since interviews, so everyone was pretty excited. I was excited too, but also a little nervous because I swim about as good as.....a dog with vest full of rocks. It isn't pretty, but it works. But let me tell you, that is one of the most fun things I have ever done. My group had such a good time and I didn't get thrown out of the boat. Well, I would have had I not fallen into another guy a knocked him in. We went over a fall sideways and 3 of the 6 people in the boat fell out, but not me. I can't wait to do it again. But my lesson learned is this: Getting back into the routine of studying is really difficult after having a weekend off. I am grateful I realized this now rather than months from now, but thankfully I am not the only student who has experienced this phenomenon. Every student has been dragging this week, but we all know it can't last long either. I am super excited about this weekend though (what a transition from the last paragraph - oh well). I am going back to Chicago for the weekend. I can't wait to see everyone and experience traffic again. It is going to be so weird seeing a traffic light because I don't have a single one in my 30 mile drive to school. Anyway, I am SO excited to see Jennifer, my parents, Alec, Jen's parents and siblings, and the dogs (Ernie and Reese). It is hard to believe I've been in TN for 2 months now. I am golfing Saturday morning in Jen's dad's annual event, and will be going to Alec's football game in the afternoon. It is going to be an awesome weekend and I can't wait for it to be here. And yes, I will be doing some studying, mostly on the airplane, but at least it is something. I also will be practicing some OMM on whoever wants to volunteer to be my testing dummy. So if you want a nice back massage, relief from some chest congestion, or relief from a headache, I might be able to help you out. I need the practice, so the more the merrier - seriously. If you don't, or can't, hit me up this weekend, that is fine, but take advantage during Thanksgiving because I will know a lot more techniques. So please ask me, and if I can't help, I'll let you know. After receiving a treatment, then you will start understanding the difference between an MD and a DO. Yes, we do learn everything an MD does and we do prescribe medication, but we also learn these OMM techniques and they are pretty sweet. Another point of good news is that Jennifer is going to be able to work from home with the company she is working at now. This will make our lives so much easier and we are very grateful that she has been given this opportunity with her work. We will probably end up moving closer to school as well, so that is going to be real nice. Well, that is about all I have for you guys. I try not to make these too long, but it is really difficult. I think about all of you a lot and can't wait to see all of you soon. As for now, Go Cubbies and Go Bears!!!

I am missing you...

So being up in Chicago all by myself really stinks. I have family around, and I have been enjoying the time with them, but I really miss Jim. I just wish our condo would sell, and I could move down to Tennessee and be with Jim. I just know I would be able to support him more down there. Well I will be there again in a couple of weeks.

On another note, Jim made it through his first week of classes. A bit overwhelming at first, but he is doing well. He had his first quiz last week and got 4 out of 4. WAY TO GO!!! He is really enjoying his time down there. He has met some amazing people, and he is really enjoying his schooling so far.

And it begins....

well, the first week of medical school has come and gone. Jim started his first week of medical school. He absolutly loves it. I just wish i could be down in TN with him supporting him a bit better. He has met some wonderful people, and is studying like he never has before. I am so proud of him. He is finally doing what he has always wanted to do. He is very happy with his decision. Below is an update that he sent out in the beginning of this week.

Hello everyone, Well, I finished my orientation at school and had my first medical school lecture - WOW. This is going to be one unique experience. I will be taking 27.5 credit hours this semester. Yes, that is one year's worth of undergraduate education crammed into one semester! Ouch. Our first lecture was, of course, anatomy and all I can say is that we are going to be learning a lot in a very short period of time. I mean a lot. I can't help but agree with an analogy my anatomy prof told me about medical school - it is like trying to take a drink from a fire hose. I am so glad I have anatomy experience. I really feel for those who don't. Tomorrow (Monday) will be my first full day of classes and this week is my first full week, so there is going to be a huge adjustment for me within the next couple of weeks. But I am looking forward to all of this madness (at least for now) and I can't believe that by the end of August I will be learning to take patient histories, and by the end of September, be using all those tools you see in the doctor's office. It is really cool though. It is all starting to become a reality now. Jennifer made it back home safely today after being out here for a little over a week. I can't say how awesome it was to have her here for a little while. I really missed her and having her here helped me tremendously. We both have met a lot of people over the last few days. We have made some really good friends already and I am very grateful for that. Jennifer even went shopping with one of the other wives (go figure). We have just been the social butterflies for the last week, going to many social functions through school and going to other students' houses. It is amazing because all of us students, professors, and spouses have come together so well so quickly. As I have said before, we are going to, and already have, an amazing class and I look forward to the next four years learning with them, and having them as colleagues in the future. I am so glad I chose this school. I know, without a doubt in my mind, that I made the right decision to come here. Yeah, the first few days were a little difficult, but I am all better now and am really liking it here. Absolutely no regrets - none. I finally have seen the inside of the school and let me tell you it is unbelievable!!! There was no stone unturned when it came to designing this place. Our anatomy lab has the most technology of probably any medical school in the United States. It is like the Jetsons (minus the flying cars). We have about 15 plasma TVs all over the room, video recorded lectures, and a robotic camera. The camera can be moved to any cadaver in the lab and the prof can set it up over a region of the cadaver and broadcast the image to the TVs so we can all see what he is pointing out rather than trying to look over 75 shoulders. It is truly remarkable. Our lecture halls and OMM lab is state-of-the-art as well. I will try to take pictures at some point so y'all can see what I am talking about. I also will never have to carry notebooks again due to the tablet, laptop computers we received from the school. This computer, quite frankly, is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Instead of writing on a separate sheet of paper, or printing out pages of PowerPoint presentations, I can write directly on my computer using the stylus pen. It is amazing. It is very similar to the pads y'all sign your name on when using a credit card at Home Depot, Target, etc., only a ton better. There is barely any delay and the writing looks exactly as if you wrote it using a pen. It is so freaking cool. The pen can also do everything the mouse can do, so I literally never have to "open" my laptop, but just turn it on and I am ready to go. I would recommend this to anyone starting college because it cuts down on all that stuff you have to carry. There is also programs we have that can do all kinds of fancy things that I have no idea how to do. Luckily, I don't need to know that so much. We even have anatomy software that does some of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It would take too long to type out and explain, so I will just have to show you all when I see you next. Also, I switched cell phone companies (I'm with Sprint now), BUT MY NUMBER IS STILL THE SAME 708-567-2174. I hope this email finds all of you in good health and spirit. I am definitely ready for this wild ride and I know I have the support of each and everyone of you. Thank you. I miss you all and look forward to seeing you soon. Until then...God Bless you all.

I am going to continue to update on a daily/weekly basis. Please pray that I can get down there soon. I pray everyday that our condo sells, and i can move down there.