Today I had a grand time with Curtis at medical school! I always enjoy it when I can join him for a day, because we love spending time together, and it's fascinating to get a window into the life of a med student. For most of the morning he was busy with lectures, during which time I sat in the med students' cafeteria and mowed through a very long computer-to-do list, and enjoyed wonderfully tasty smells wafting by (it seemed like everyone was eating something with bacon in it... all looking delumptious. Oh yum.).

In the afternoon, Curtis had something called a "Simulated Patient work-up," in which he got to act out a patient encounter just as if he was the real doctor -- giving the patient a global check-up, and specifically evaluating them for chest pain. Then more hours of study. And reviewing notes with classmates. And discussing material with professors. And finally, home!

If there is one feeling that I'm left with every time I join him for the day, it's that God is incredibly good to us. The university in this state has one of the best medical programs we have ever heard of, and the people we've met are amazing. I'm also very blessed to have such an incredible brother (three of them, actually)!

[For a meeting of med school Alumni from the 50's, Curtis was chosen to represent the current class - hence the above picture as he describes the med school of today]

I am so proud of him!

34 Days of Thankfulness

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

I'm excited to announce that today's post is the first in a series on Thankfulness: a post a day for 34 weekdays, between Canadian and American Thanksgivings, highlighting things for which I am thankful.

And the best part? Ike is doing it with me! You can read what he has to say over at www.masculineconversations.blogspot.com.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post!

Recent Doings

Autumn in Vermont is always beautiful, but I think this year is one of the best. For weeks, the trees surrounding our house were various shades of flaming red, yellow, and orange, and then almost in one day they turned a dusty color and began coming down in droves. Now there are huge piles gathering on the ground, and the dogs have been spending hours lolling about in them. In another week or so, we'll probably be officially into "stick season," as it is known here -- the period when there are no leaves on the trees but no snow yet either. And I am SO looking forward to snow! I can almost hear the Christmas music playing already... :)

Our front yard!

Sunset over Camel's Hump

The last few weeks have seen a lot of company at our place! We love it when Curtis' classmates come over... most of them are great cooks, so we all cook together and share recipes. My absolute top favorite has to be Gobi Manchurian! It's an Indian dish - basically deep fried cauliflower in a spicy red sauce - and we made it again last Sunday under the tutelage of Curtis' study partner (pictured below). The four and a half hours various ones of us spent at the stove babysitting frying cauliflower were totally worth it!!

And the post-dinner ping pong games were a blast as well:

Playing doubles - glad to be on a team with this ping pong expert!

And finally, a couple of hiking pictures...

 Amazing bro.

Looking down from halfway up Mt. Adams, in New Hampshire

More posts coming soon!

-Ems

Paralegal Liaison!

I'm super excited to announce that I have been elected to the position of Paralegal Liaison for Oak Brook College of Law! 

I'm so looking forward to working with the Alumni... encouraging Paralegal students, helping fellow Paralegal grads to connect with the school & to find job opportunities, and so much more.

It is really encouraging to see more Christians become equipped and knowledgeable about law and politics through solid, Biblically-based training at OBCL -- they are helping prepare this generation to make a difference in the world, and I'm excited to be a part of it. 

Here's to another great year for Oak Brook!

-Emily Adams, Certified Paralegal :)

[to learn more about OBCL, go to www.obcl.edu]

Sweet Sixteen!

 Our dear Little Belles is 16 today!

I remember the day she was born. I remember gazing with awe at the baby sister for whom I'd waited and prayed so long. She was like a little cherub. I remember her as a toddler, always smiling and laughing and bringing joy into our lives. 

She's still like that. She has a positive outlook on life, an encouraging word for everybody, a cheerful countenance. And she is a marvelous companion. Five years between us doesn't slow us down a bit -- Ibs and I get along famously and I look up to her in so many ways. She has wisdom beyond her years, and I treasure the input she speaks into my life. I am so blessed to have a sister with whom to have super long talks, quote favorite books, finish each others' sentences, enjoy late-night laughing fits, share hopes and dreams, and spur each other on to follow God more fully every day.

Ibby is a rare gem, a girl who is fast growing into a young woman of strong character and beauty that is both inside and out. I look forward to seeing where God will lead her as she continues to mature and blossom in her sixteenth year. 

Happy Birthday, Isabella! I love you to bits!

Memory Shots

 The past few weeks have been wildly full! They've included twelve states, countless ministry stops, a few days of sweet fellowship, and the wonderful feeling of arriving home at last. Here in Vermont, the leaves are already beginning to change, and soon the mountainsides will be rich with the colors of the season. We took a hike on Sunday afternoon, and were finally able to conquer the "Hell Brook" trail, which was very difficult, but soooo worth it -- several miles of steep, rocky terrain which mostly felt like trying to walk up a cliff, and then we came out above the trees and the view of the surrounding country took our breath away. I'll post pictures of it soon.

In the meantime, here are a few recent and not-so-recent pictures...

Vermont woods

 

 best friends

almost heaven

wild games of blow-ping-pong. :)

enjoying a real kitchen!

some of Ike's nasturtiums

our faithful dog

Friendship

{walking with a friend}

"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away." - George Eliot