Christmas 2011

This Christmas was a unique one for us.  On December 17th we started our 1,000+ miles car drive down to Port Saint Lucie, Florida, where Dana's sisters live.  The night of the 17th we stopped in Mt. Pleasant, SC to spend some with with a family Reuben knew on his mission.  We spent the 18th there as well, visiting with friends and exploring the beautiful area.  In Charleston we visited Battery Park (where the 1st shots of the Civil War were fired), Rainbow Row, and the downtown market.  We ended the night by taking a walk and dancing on the beach :)

The following morning we left for Port St. Lucie, and arrived in good time.  We have a nice visit with Dana's family.  We took walks on the beach, saw palm trees decked out in Christmas lights (which they changed color to the tune of Christmas songs), and it even snowed in West Palm (soap suds actually, but it was still magical :p)!

It was a strange Christmas for us - we missed the chilly air and snow, but it was still enjoyable.  Christmas can't seem complete without family, so we were thankful we were able to spend the holidays with Dana's.  We look forward to spending it with Reuben's next year.

An amazing gift we all received was a surprise trip to SeaWorld!  Neither of us had been there before so we were pretty excited.  While at SeaWorld we saw shows featuring dolphins, exotic birds, sea lions, an otter, a walrus, and killer whales.  We loved watching those graceful animals perform.  It was a spectacular and humbling experience.  We were also able to pet and feed sting rays and dolphins - wow!  As Dana has no idea what she wants to do with her future, she's now considering marine biology. :p

We're excited to see what gifts and surprises 2012 has in store for us!  

SeaWorld

Raining...

Christmas Stocking

Dana made me this stocking for Christmas.  Everything is hand stitched and it took her forever to make.  She is amazing to me...

Our 1st blog post

Dana and I decided that since we are part of the married world, we should embrace the tradition of blogging.  We have been married for over 4 months now and we are about to celebrate our first Christmas as a married couple.  We have enjoyed seeing so many of our friends and family members throughout this year due to weddings and other travel opportunities.
 
About Reuben:  I am in my fourth year of medical school and excited to be graduating on March 26th, 2012. I plan on training in family practice.  I am currently interviewing at various residency programs and we will know where we will be spending the next three years sometime this March.

About Dana:  I am working as a substitute teacher in a K-8 inner city school.  It's tough work, but I'm learning a lot about myself and the great blessings I've been given.  Lately I've been thinking of going back to school, either in counseling, speech language pathology, or occupational therapy.

We're excited to see what the future holds for us, and we know that wherever we end up will be good for us.