Pilgrims at Oak Ridge

Next week we are going to New Jersey to celebrate Jeff's Grandmother's 90th birthday. I'm looking forward to seeing some of Jeff's family again - most of them we haven't seen since the wedding. It looks like we are going to have half a day to spend in New York City. The only other time I've been to New York was once when I had a long layover in Newark and spent maybe 2 hours there. The only thing I saw then was the World Trade Center. So I'm taking a poll....what should we do? Obviously we can't do it all, but I'd love to have some opinions about what is good to do in NYC if you only have a few hours. Maybe central park? Times square? Jeff thinks it might be fun to do lunch at Bobby Flay's restaurant - which sounds fun to me. Is there a museum worth some time? Anyone out there with strong opinions? I want to know!

I cut back on the amount of Christmas sewing I did this year. Mostly because I got a late start. But I did manage to pull together a few things. My first project was a super hero cape for Jack. I really love how it turned out. Jeff now wants one, too. It's reversible. My other big project was an advent calender for Melanie. I also am making one like this for myself - but couldn't finish mine because I ran out of time. I spent some time looking at calenders on flickr , and then got started. I used the number templates from Sew, Mama, Sew. I really love this - I love all the fabrics and the linen together. I'm excited about getting mine finished. Thankfully I have some time before I'll need it.

1. I think that twice within the last week I've heard someone describe someone else as being "Smart as a whip." Which sounds like it would be a put-down, but they meant it as a compliment. I never knew whips were so smart. I'm pretty sure they meant to say "quick as a whip," which makes much more sense, and is also a way of saying that somebody is smart. As an aside, I sometimes like to say that someone is "sharp as a whip, quick as a tack," which is funny because I am intentionally switching the adjectives for humorous effect. 2. "The proof is in the pudding." Why do people say this so often? Don't they know it makes absolutely no sense? There's no proof in the pudding. Why would the proof be in the pudding? J.I. Packer has surmised that the original saying was once "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." This makes a little bit more sense, although I admit that I'm still not sure exactly when it wou...

...well, sort of. On the way back home yesterday I had these great plans to go to the gym and then run a few errands to make a few exchanges. By the time I got home, I was feeling tired and thought, "well, I'll just lay down for a few minutes first...." Ha! Two and a half hours later, I woke up, quite refreshed. I did run some errands, but the gym was closed by then. Then I decided to take the dog on a walk. When I was almost back to the house, I somehow mis-stepped and twisted my ankle. I wish I could say I was doing something cool, but nope... I was just walking. Even though I wasn't far from the house, I called Jeff to get me because it hurt so bad. Today, after enjoying a nice lunch with my wonderful family that came down to visit our church, I've been laid up on the couch, my ankle elevated and iced. I think it's just a sprain, but I'll probably get another actual doctor to look at it tomorrow and see if it needs to be x-rayed. We had a wonderful vaca...

Merry Christmas! I'm enjoying experimenting with my new lens...

We went on a short hike with some friends today. All told we had three dogs, 2 kids, and 9 adults. We hiked to this neat waterfall only about 15 minutes from my house. I'd never been there before, but it was beautiful. It was nice to get out of the house, and really nice to enjoy the sun on my face.

I told you there'd be some nephew photos.

My Christmas vacation started today. I worked all day, then we got packed up and drove up to Seneca for the family Christmas get together. We are looking forward to 5 days of family time, good eating, and lots of laughing and talking. And everyone should expect a few more photos of the nephews in the next few days.

I delivered a baby today. Not just any baby - but the baby of a dear friend, resident classmate, and my own doctor. Whenever people choose me to do their OB care, I always feel honored, but when a fellow doctor lets me be a part of that experience, I am even more honored. It's also a little more nerve-wracking because when it's a good friend I just worry more about what could go wrong. The delivery today was wonderful - smooth, uncomplicated, and the baby even had the decency to come during the day. And now I can go on Christmas vacation and not worry about when she's going to go into labor. The little girl was just beautiful. And after I finished my doctorly duties, I could get my camera and just be a friend. The proud grandparents... we used to go to church with them. Grandma cried. It was precious. It was a really great day.

I got a phone call from my infertility doctor the other day. Well, first I got a call from his office, wanting to know how the pregnancy was going. I chatted with the nurse for a few minutes, letting them know that everything was going well, but that I didn't know if it was a boy or girl. The next day, the doctor himself called me. He also wanted to know how things were going. I wasn't sure if he normally calls his patients personally or if this was just some sort of professional courtesy. He asked me some of the same questions, and then asked me to send along a card or note after the baby comes to let them know if it was a v*ginal birth or c-section, the weight, etc. I guess they keep track of this kind of information as part of their research. Anyway, it was kind of weird hearing from them since I haven't really thought about him or that office in a while. But it did get me thinking again about the day we did the IUI , and I realized that I never posted about it here. It ...

The Christmas party!! We had a great time - I made two kinds of soup, and then several people brought desserts or appetizers. Lucy was her usual terrified self, though she came out of her shell a little by the end of the night and got a few people to pet her. My best decision of the evening? Buying paper plates and bowls to use. It made the clean up very fast. And after spending several hours over the last two days cleaning, (I even did more craft room organizing) the last thing I would have wanted to do tonight was more cleaning. So now, instead of cleaning, I'm going to bed.

Today was a long day. It started out by me working a few hours in the local pediatrician's office. Then I came home and started cleaning and getting the house ready for company tomorrow. Our entire church (it sounds like a lot but in reality it's only about 15) is coming for a little Christmas party tomorrow. I started the two types of soup and made an appetizer, and also some granola to give to the nurses at our office. Somewhere in there I did some laundry, wrapped some presents, and did a little bit of sewing since I'm still not done with Christmas gifts. People often ask me how I feel during this pregnancy. It's really been a fairly easy one so far - I still feel really good, have plenty of energy most of the time, and can just enjoy this time. But today I could really tell I was pregnant. After standing most of the day my feet were killing me. My back ached. I felt exhausted. I made myself stop sewing and took a nice, long, hot bath. It was great, and just what I n...

Today was cold and gray - all day long. The perfect kind of day to sit in a hot tub and and drink hot chocolate or take a nap. I got to go to work instead. Not that I'm complaining - I do love my job. But I didn't enjoy the 30 minute drive to Due West, SC, where I'm doing my rural medicine rotation - since the roads were all very wet, slightly flooded, and my windshield kept getting foggy. These two photos were the best I could do. It's hard to hold an umbrella and a camera at the same time when your fingers start to freeze. Apparently the wind chill here made it feel like it was 23. Brrr. On the positive side, at least it's sort of wintery around here. I just wish it were snow....

Mmm.... dinner.

I love having a husband who likes to bake. (And thanks, Megan , for your cookie recipe. Jeff tried to use what was on the back of the chocolate chips, but they were a total bust. We figured out they didn't call for enough flour by looking at your recipe, so he was able to remedy them delectably.)

My husband took this one. He's really getting quite good with the camera. This is the old grocery store in Cross Hill, where our little church is.

My first fully completed sewing project for the baby: a cute little stocking. I love it - it's simple, but the fabric on the inside is this really nice pop of color. I suppose this baby will one day want one that is larger so as to fit more loot, so maybe this will get passed down to whomever is the youngest. Or the dog. But until then, it's just right.

I found this blog today from linking from another one - I can't remember whose. It's called Letters of Note , and it's a blog that publishes interesting letters from the past. You should check it out. Especially this one .

I love fog. Even the hospital parking lot is pretty in the fog.

Has everyone here checked out Jeff's other blog ? He and Ken have some really good posts up over there.

We spent last night at a wonderful bed and breakfast in the town of Aiken, SC. Last Christmas, Jeff's parents gave us this gift certificate and we finally cashed it in. We had a nice, relaxing time - sleeping in, eating delicious breakfast, and enjoying the very cute downtown Aiken. Our bed and breakfast even came with its own horses.

Two nights ago the overnight forecast was "90% chance of rain throughout the night." Apparently, what they meant to say was, "Tornadoes and damaging winds will tear through your neighborhood, knocking down trees and taking out your power for the rest of the day."

Even though Sam's finger is conspicuously close to his nose, I love this photo. And I have a confession. I didn't take it. My brother did. But I love that my dad is playing the piano and singing with the boys. And I love that Caleb is in motion. So I'm posting it anyway.

Here's my husband's shot - he's been doing some experimenting with shutter speed.

My favorite thing at the hospital christmas party? The dessert table. Though honestly, after I tried a solid chocolate truffle, I threw everything else away and just a few more of those.

I love this kid.

I wanted to post here what I said today at the funeral: I’ve always felt blessed by the wonderful family God has given to me. The faithful example of those who were older, in whose footsteps I could try to walk. My grandmother, Flora Rampey, was no exception. I’m going to miss my grandmother. I was looking forward to a day a few months from now when I might have been able to introduce her to what would have been her 6 th great grandchild. I do hate that my child will never have to chance to know Grandma – mostly because she was a wonderful lady who was a blessing to those who knew her. I’ve been thinking a lot these past few days about what I’m going to tell my child about my grandmother – because more than anything I want him or her to understand the legacy of faith that they have been given. I want to tell about her hospitality. How she opened her home every year to dozens of Rampeys for a fun, food-filled Christmas celebration. More than once at family reunions I was amazed by ...

We buried my grandma today.

My grandmother died earlier this week. She was 93, and loved the Lord, and so although I'm going to miss her, I'm thankful she is with Jesus now - and reunited with my grandfather, her husband of 67 years. We came up to my parent's house last night to prepare for the funeral. This morning my dad flew me back to Greenwood so I could scrub in to the c-section of one of my patients who is also a good friend. Making the turn before landing into Greenwood. A picture of our church from the air.