Moving forward....

This past year Darin has been wrestling with the idea of doing a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.  I left it up to him but I really wanted him to do it.  He had his reservations for the fact you really do not get more pay, it is another 2 years and he was ready to be done with his training.  In the end it came down to what would make him the happiest and doing the fellowship would do just that.  He read somewhere that ER doctors rank highest for burn out but Pediatric ER docs rank the happiest.  Good choice Darin, good choice!  Because we all know a happy husband is a happy wife...haha.

Darin attended 8 interviews:

1. Augusta, Georgia

2. Orlando, Florida

3. Loma Linda, California

4. Kansas City, Missouri

5. Ann Arbor, Michigan

6. Jacksonville, Florida

7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

8. Albuquerque, New Mexico

He also received interview invites from New Jersey, Delaware, Texas and New York.  But to be honest we ran out of time and money.  

When we started the interview process we were super excited about the New Mexico interview as we thought that would be great being so close to family.  The program ended up not being so great and it was put to the bottom of our list.  At that point Kansas City was looking good and seemed to be the right choice.

During hurricane Sandy Darin received a phone call from Loma Linda (who we thought there was no chance with) saying they would be ranking him high on their list.  He also got word from Orlando as well.  We were torn between the two as we already lived in California, knew the area have many friends there and it is close to home.  Orlando is new and exciting with Disney World.  (ya that was Darin's insight).  He had yet to interview in Georgia.  Because of the hurricane his interview was rescheduled.  I had been pro Georgia from the time we sent in our paperwork.  I really didn't have a reason why I was pro Georgia I just felt good about it. The interview in Georgia went awesome.  Darin was so giddy when he called me after.  The program had everything he dreamed of and more.  He really wanted a program where he could do service, gain a lot of experience and they also offered a dual fellowship in Ultrasound.  This program was only accepting 1 applicant and well Darin was their ONLY applicant.  WHY?  Because they only would accept ER trained doctors, when most of the applicants for this type of fellowship are Pediatric trained doctors.  So Darin had an edge and chose wisely.  This particular program also does a lot of service projects in other countries.  The ultrasound doctors who will be training Darin are the guru's of the field.  We were excited to get their phone call not long before the match to say Darin was their top pick (haha).

So on November 28th we waited for that email to come to tell us where we were going to be spending the next 2.5 years.

Congratulations Darin we are proud of you!  We are looking forward to our new adventure in Augusta, Georgia this coming summer.  (it seems like we were just doing this!)

Beck's Christmas Tree Farm...

 My favorite Pennsylvania tradition is picking our Christmas Tree.  We usually go with friends but everyone was "busy" this year. :)  But to tell you the truth I am happy it worked out the way it did.  We had so much fun wandering around the tree farm as a family looking for that "perfect" tree.

 

 We finally settled on this beauty.  And yes it leans a bit...still does in our house as well.  I think it adds character!

 Darin worked hard to cut down the tree.  I had to laugh as 4 different trees were dropped around us before Darin got half way through the trunk on ours.

 Nash was in great spirits, enjoying the candy cane Santa gave him on the way in.

 He made sure Darin enjoyed it too.  

 How cute is that, he decorated a little tree.  I actually wanted to get him a small tree but no matter the size of the tree in this farm they all cost $35...I am too cheap to spend that much on a little tree.  So I took a picture instead.

 The tree was cut and Nash was determined to push it himself.

 Look at those cheeks!  He was so good, took a nap and then smiled at everyone we passed. LOVE this little man!

 It was at this tree farm that Nash first met Santa.  Click HERE to see how that went. He was much more brave this year.  Although, on the way home he was VERY upset because he forgot to tell Santa what he wanted.  Thankfully we have seen 2 more Santa's since then!  Santa is well informed that Nash wants Beyblades, a T-ball set and video games.

 Darin set up the tree and then had to go to work.  Nash and I finished decorating but some how I never took a picture of the tree, just my little helper being silly....

Yummy-Food...

Asa is 6 months old and ready for food.  Can you believe it!  He is growing so fast.  We gave him his first taste of rice cereal and he wasn't a fan.  He has since grown to like it a little better.  He is NOT however a fan of sweet potatoes, squash or green beans.  My friend Malesa told me to just give him greens for a month, she swears that helped her 2nd child not be so picky.  Whether it works or not who knows but it doesn't hurt to try....thanks for the tip Malesa!

 Man I wish I could go back in time and try things over with Nash.  We still struggle with feeding him. Thank you Nash for paving the way! 

Thanksgiving 2012

Our Thanksgiving this year was pretty great...as great as it could be with out our families.  I started the day off with a early 6 mile run.  It was the longest run I have done since I was 6 months pregnant with Asa.  Stacia joined me and we did a remote route that I ALWAYS enjoy.  After running I got the boys up and ready for the ward Turkey Bowl.  Nash was so excited to go play football with daddy.  Darin on the other hand wasn't so excited and ended up pulling a muscle that keeps acting up.

Nash didn't know what was going on.  He was just happy to be running around.  Madden on the other hand was in HEAVEN!  I don't think he knew he wasn't a big kid, in his mind he was the star of the game...and I HE WAS!

Oh I love this sweet bundle of Asa joy!!!

We decided to have Thankgiving at our house.  We invited other orphan families to join us.  It was hard to believe that this would be our last year here in Pennsylvania. :(

I had a bit of fun with our table...it was inspired by Nash's preschool party. I love the Macaroni Grill for the fact that you can draw on the table while you eat.  So that it is what I decided to do.  Instead of going around the table asking what everyone is thankful for, they had to draw it. A bit cheesy I know but it was fun for the kids.

Our cups were little mayflowers. :)

Darin is my dream come true.  I think after being married to me for 7 years he has learned that I get a bit stressed out when we have things at our house.  He lightened that load by volunteering to make the Turkey and both hams.  I was determined to make the pies but then he said he could get them free from the hospital and came home with them.  ...maybe he is more afraid of my cooking...no I am going to think he was my knight in shining armor!

This year Darin tried the brining method.  Which was great, but then the turkey would NOT cook and it was getting close to dinner time...and well we burned the turkey....OOPS!

But the to tell you the truth it was a great tasting turkey!

Asa was pretty great helper.

We had pretty yummy food and there was A LOT of food!

And the guests.  My favorite part of the first picture is Riley and Alana have the same face. :)

 My favorite part of this picture is I am smiling for the camera in the mirror...hehe.

Darin is thankful for our house and Riley.

 Elli is thanks for food, clothes, swimming and much, much more!

 This drawing on the table was an EXCELLENT idea.  How do I know, little chatty Bella didn't make a peep the entire dinner.  She was so into her drawing.  I took a picture of all the drawings but they are not loading for some odd reason.  There were so GREAT artists in the group. ;) 

 After dinner we made it to the basement for some xbox fun.  Nash was in heaven playing with everyone.

We had such a fun time.  Thank you Dowling, Ockerman and Long families for coming!