Christmas in California

Our ten day trip to California was a little too short this year. We had so much fun visiting with family: mom, dad, siblings, in-laws, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmas, grandpas, & friends. I love the holidays!

We shopped a lot for maternity & baby clothes. I've never been much of a shopper & clothes shopping has definitely lost its appeal with a prego belly, but I found a new love for shopping...baby clothes. I think I'm going to enjoy the aspect of shopping as a mother.

Christmas Eve was spent with the Holmes family, which is a family I adore! There are so many fun people to talk with & I love the relationships within the family. We spent the night eating & talking, building gingerbread houses, singing, updating each other on our lives, & eating Grandma's delicious chocolates.
The night was spent with the immediate family opening our matching PJ's (love them!), exchanging gifts, & reading the Christmas story.

Christmas Day was filled with gifts & more family. We ate with the Pitt family & enjoyed each others company as we caught up with everyone.

Adoring Hannah & Warner via pictures

We LOVED seeing, holding, & playing with our nieces & nephews. I love these pictures of all the babies.

Two-week old Warner - Giving me a wink & a smile

Brendon & Hannah

Daphne -- always in somebody's arms...
we couldn't get enough of her

It was fun to meet seven-week-old Kennedy for the first time

Our trip ended with a baby shower. That was SO much FUN! I can't wait to use everything we got: clothes, blankets, shoes, toys, books, etc.I love these ladies!

Growing by the Minute

Picture taken at 30 weeks

Only 9 more weeks to go...I can't believe it! I'm so excited!

Went to the doctor today & had my last ultrasound. Baby Holmes is a busy-body; he moved to much to get a good picture. He is pretty big. The doctor said he may come early based on head & stomach size, but didn't want to change the due date. I can't wait to hold him in my arms!!!

Angel Tree

The past few months have been filled with
busy lunch hours,
a lot of driving around town,
a messy house,
stress,
planning,
worry,
and restless nights.
I have never been so busy in my entire life...seriously.
If you would've asked me three months ago, I would've told you I failed more than at any other time in my life. I would've told you I should have never taken on the responsibility. I would have told you this project was more worry than it was worth.

Angel Tree is a service project the SAA (Student Advocate Association) has been doing for the past five years. This is an opportunity for members of our club to serve the community, as well as a means for members of the community to serve others in the community. Children in local schools are selected by school counselors to participate in the Angel Tree program. Parents fill out sizes of clothing along with a "wish list" of what their children would like for Christmas. The childrens' information is written on an angel card and placed on a Christmas tree at local stores where members of the community adopt an angel and purchase gifts. We (SAA) organizes, wraps, and distributes the gifts. This year we provided gifts for 110 children.

Now, in the middle of December, my perspective has changed.
The past three weeks has been extremely fulfilling. Now, I realize my time has never been used as well as it has been the past few months. I have never felt so much love for the people I know...and the people I don't know:
those who give,
those who offer their time,
those who are given to,
and those who are always there (those who you realize you would have failed had you not had them around).

I have never felt so "filled" day in and day out as I have the past few weeks...did I already mention that?

There were, in my eyes, a number of small miracles (...actually, no miracles are small).
The not-so-small miracles:
(1) At one point, I was nervous about having enough wrapping paper. The next day, someone had donated three rolls of wrapping paper.
(2) Another time, I was concerned that not all the angels would be adopted. An email went out to students and faculty and all the angels were adopted.
(3) During another point in time, I wasn't sure our financial situation would allow us to provide for angels who were selected, but gifts were never returned. A grant was given to our club that made it possible to purchase gifts for every single angel.

You know, I prayed a lot about this project during those moments of worry. I may not have realized it at the time, but a lot of prayers were answered.

My life hasn't been dramatically changed with this project, but I have come to a better understanding of the greatest gift resulting from service: love. I could even break out into song with,
"What the world needs now...is love, sweet love..."
But seriously, I don't know of any greater feeling than love.

"We can do no great things;
only small things with great love."
-Mother Teresa

BYU wins 26-23 in OT

The Cougars came away with it this year. BYU was up 20-6 going into the fourth quarter, then Utah came back with 14 points to tie it up. The defense held Utah to a field goal in overtime, then QB Max Hall found tight end Andrew George for this 25 yard touchdown pass to seal the game:



It was an ugly game at times, with lots of penalties and faltering offenses, but the W is what counts in the end.

What To Do...

Finals are over. My eyes are burning from not getting enough sleep. I don't feel like sleeping, though, because I get to do what I want for the first time in 3 weeks. So instead I've been watching Drive Thru New Zealand on Hulu, dreaming that I could be doing the same. Enjoy.

Provo It Is

Although Wichita was our first choice, we are excited to announce that we drew Provo, UT, for our clinical rotation match. Get ready for the Holmes in Summer 2010.

Brendon's Update

This is an exciting time in our lives, with news of our little boy and the anticipation of what the future holds. We are keeping pretty busy. My ankle is getting better. I'm going to try it out tomorrow night on the volleyball court. A four week break has done wonders, but I'm too anxious to wait any longer.

This Friday, we'll find out where we will be living for the next two years of our life. Our school holds a lottery match where each student ranks their top 6 choices of the available locations. The current and practically permanent top 6 are:

1. Wichita, KS
2. Provo, UT
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. Phoenix, AZ
5. Denver, CO
6. Logan, UT

As you can tell, we want to go west from here. The current plan after those two years is to get into a Pediatrics residency program in Southern California. I say "current" because I never know what other opportunities might come my way. Three years of residency should be enough time to know if California is the place for our family. I have been doing some research on the programs and here is the tentative ranking:

1. Loma Linda Children's Hospital
2. Children's Hospital of Orange County
3. UCI Medical Center
4. UCLA-Harbor Hospital
5. Kaiser Hospital - Los Angeles
6. Los Angeles Children's Hospital

As for my thoughts, I wish I had more time to think. My time is filled to the brim with classes, tests, and assignments. I try to glean what's important from the news and usually have no trouble keeping up on sports for sanity's sake (did you hear that College Game Day is coming to Provo on Oct. 24?). But what has naturally struck me as a future health professional is... you guessed it... the nation's state of "health care reform."

Everything I see seems to have some kind of underlying bias. Each lobbyist is not there because they want what's best for the United States, but because they want what's best for the hands that fill their pockets. The Health Insurance lobby just switched from being a major player in the plans to opposing the legislation. Every major media program has people at the top with strong opinions of what should and should not be put on air. Fox News has been exchanging blows with the White House, while other news channels are slow to criticize the Obama administration. In short, I take everything I hear with a grain of salt. But here's my own opinion:

People that know me and my religious beliefs will understand why I really ache for everyone in this country to have access to health care, without fear of how it will cripple their finances. Jesus Christ is the personification of idealism. He would have us take care of the poor, the sick, and the needy out of our own desire, and not for gain.

With this idealism in mind, we live in an economy that is driven by capitalism. It would be fantastic if everyone would work hard at what they are good at and allow all things to be equal, so there would be no poor among us. However, at this time, this is not realistic.

I firmly believe that in our economy there should be financial rewards for the sacrifice it takes to gain a higher education. There should also be rewards for innovators and entrepreneurs. We are taught from a young age that hard work pays off. Do I think some doctors are paid too much? I sure do. What about some lawyers? Yes. Some CEO's? Yes. But curtailing salaries is not how citizens of this country become motivated to work hard. The return on investment of time and resources has to be significant enough to motivate our citizens.

At the same time, I see Americans wasting resources on things they don't need. How many people have a three-year payment plan on a $20,000 car that would cringe to pay $5,000 a year for their personal health.

It has been shown that business becomes more successful when they give (sorry, no citation, but I know I've heard it before). One business based their whole model and marketing scheme on giving. Stories like theirs are inspiring, and continue to prove to everyone that America is full of ideas that continue to help others while helping our economy. So where are the ideas that can combine Health Care coverage with philanthropic ventures? I think they are germinating beneath the surface. We will see them sprout and grow soon enough.

I am personally reluctant to let the government decide how to spend funds. The thought of how much is wasted on petty arguments makes me quiver. From experience in a rural clinic, I am led to believe that many who use government health care abuse government health care. I am nearly convinced that when more handouts are made available, more people will do what they need to in order to qualify for said handouts. This causes budget shortages - an all-too common result.

I believe that the public can rise to the occasion if it is a big enough issue for them. Health Care Reform gives me the impression of a partisan concern, a sort of trophy for the leftists. Democrats, simply stated, believe that government should play a role in alleviating poverty and use a system of progressive taxation. Republicans essentially believe that the free market should govern such concerns, keeping taxation to a minimum.

In short, I believe reform needs to be made, but I think Americans can figure out the details. I believe the public coverage option is on the legislative table because it will be considered a great accomplishment, not because it is what we need at this point in time.