Thanksgiving in Little Rock

We had a great Thanksgiving in Little Rock! On Wednesday we left at exactly 6:00 a.m. and got to Little Rock at 1:00 p.m. We at lunch with Mom and Tripp at Panera and then just hung out and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. When Dad got home from work we got to go up to the club for pasta bar. It was SOOOO good. David brought home some of the teeth that he's been working on and Mom and Dad really liked seeing it that night. On Thanksgiving morning we relaxed and watched the Macy's Day Parade until Thanksgiving lunch. Mom's dressing did not disappoint! About mid-afternoon we made the house switch and headed over to Mike and Kathy's. It was wonderful to have a sister-in-law to share the holiday with. We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner that night! On Friday morning John and Sarah flew to Houston to be with Sarah's family, and we headed down to Arkadelphia to spend some time at the farm. We got to ride the Rainwater's new horse, named Flash, and see David's grandparents. On Friday night we went back to my parent's house and went out to eat at U.S. Pizza Company! Yum Yum! On Saturday morning we slept in and hung out, then headed back to Kansas City around 1:00 p.m. We were glad we decided to come back yesterday so that we could have today to get all of our stuff ready for the next couple weeks.

David's upcoming schedule is pretty intense, but we can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel. We can't believe that we've almost made it to Christmas of David's second year of dental school and that I've now taught second grade for almost a semester. Time passes so fast and David is going to be in the clinic and through all of these hard classes after just one more semester! Woohoo! Our first year and a half of marriage has been fun, fast, busy, exciting, full of love, and definitely something to be thankful for this holiday season. Thanks for a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

Here is a picture from each house!

A Perfectly Wonderful Weekend

This has been such a nice weekend for David and I. On Friday night we ordered a pizza a watched a movie at home. We were just able to enjoy being together and relaxing. On Saturday morning we got up bright and early and went up to the church to work at the marriage conference. Because we volunteered to work, we got to go for free! The conference was led by Dr. Gary Chapman, writer of The Five Love Languages. All of the sessions were really informative and practical. There were 28 people from our Sunday School class alone who attended. Overall it was a refreshing day...we're excited about what we learned and the time we got to spend with friends.

After the conference we came home and cleaned the whole house and then decorated for Christmas!!! We really wanted to be able to enjoy our Christmas decorations as long as possible, so we decided to do them this weekend so that they would be done when we got back from Little Rock after Thanksgiving. So on Saturday night we put up everything except the tree.

We really wanted to go and cut down our tree this year, but we didn't think we would have enough time with David's final schedule. So this afternoon we went to a tree place and picked one out! They didn't have many in, but we decided to spring for a Frasier Fur and it is GORGEOUS! It seriously looks perfectly symmetrical, is the perfect height, and the perfect width. Here are some pictures of the house that is ready for Christmas before Thanksgiving! :)

Thanks for the manger scene Mom! I added some extra limbs from our Christmas tree to spice it up!

We can't wait to be in Little Rock for Thanksgiving!

WICKED!!!!!

We have just had a wonderful weekend here in KC! On Friday night we went out to dinner and hung out with Brett and Sarah Busenitz, two co-workers of mine. Sarah is the other second grade teacher, and Brett teaches fifth grade. They ended up being really fun to be with. We headed to the movie theater to see "The Box," but when we asked for tickets, they said that it wasn't playing anymore. Since we couldn't see the movie we had planned on, they gave us all passes to be redeemed whenever we want for whatever movie we want! We coudn't believe it! So we ended up just going to a Christian coffee house and knowing that we can see a free movie any time!

On Saturday morning I worked on homework for my LAST class this semester while David studied. After lunch we started to tackle the front and backyard leaves. There were SOOOOOO many, but now our yard looks great. Just waiting on the first snow now. On Saturday night we headed downtown to see Wicked! We just couldn't wait and it lived up to all of our expectations. It was so fun to see it again and to know all of the songs. It was a challenged for us to keep quiet and not sing along. :)

Here we are at Wicked in London...

...and here we are two and half years later getting to see it again together!

The perks of being a dental student's wife...

This week I got to experience one of the benefits of being married to a dental student. Last year around this time, David was given a free electronic toothbrush by a dental company. It was a $175 value I think. Anyway, David has loved having it. This last week...I got one too! It's so unbelievable to get something so nice for free! It's sort of like the upgrade of David's and it's so cool. It even has different settings for what exactly you want to do in your mouth (like clean, massage etc). We are now toothbrush "poor." Here are David and Sooie. Sooie is sitting in her new favorite box (the box that my toothbrush came in)!







This weekend we have decided to have a "Rainwater Family Stacation." In other words, we're having a stay at home vacation. David is not going to study TOO much and we're going to get some things done around the house together. The most exciting thing about this upcoming weekend is going to happen on Saturday night. We have Broadway Across America here in Kansas City and were going to go again (we went to the Lion King last winter). However, the big news is not that we're going again...it's what we're seeing! We are going to see WICKED! We saw it in London when we studied abroad for the summer together and LOVED it. We even bought the soundtrack. We can't wait to see it again and relive the experience that we had in London...except now we're married! We'll let you know how it goes. By the way...David is filling his first cavity on a real patient as I write this! I'm so proud of him. I am in the middle of my first ever day of parent/teacher conferences. It's going really really well and I'm finding it kind of fun to talk and get to know the parents. They're all so supportive. Exciting times!

"Stick and Squirt"

This past weekend, I passed another hurdle in the dental school journey. On Saturday morning, everyone in my class met at school for the annual event, "Stick and Squirt." This is when all the 2nd year students learn how to give the local anesthetic injections. The only catch is that we have to practice on each other. It is certainly a favorite for the faculty at school, and always fun to talk with other people that have endured it.

We started the morning at 7:15 with a video demonstrating the proper techniques used for each injection, and then went down to the clinic. After another short demo, my partner and I watched some of the other students as they administered shots to their wincing partner and waited for our turn. With the aide of an oral surgery resident, I gave 10 shots to my partner. After he was completely numb, we switched out playing doctor, and he gave me 10 shots. A little "nerve-wracking" for both of us, but now 3 days later, it seems we made it out okay. No permanent damage! I have actually never had a shot in the mouth, and it actually wasn't too bad. The ones on the roof of your mouth hurt the worst. What a morning!

Here are some action shots of the day.

A Birthday, A Baby, and a Wedding...

Sorry we didn't post for a while! On October 23, my class through me a birthday party! They all brought me flowers to school and I was given lots of gift cards and really cute homemade cards. That night, I headed down to Fayetteville for the evening for my little miniature pledge class reunion. We all went and ate at Powerhouse, an old favorite, and then I came back up to KC on Saturday to celebrate my birthday with David! We went and ate at Houstons and I can't tell you how great it was. David could cut his steak with the side of his fork! It was a WONDERFUL birthday. Here we are after dinner in the Plaza.

That next week was Westminster's Fall Break, so I didn't have to work all week! David still had class. :( On Sunday, October 25, Parker Wade Davis joined us! Lauren had a LONG day and gave birth to a beautiful 9 pound, 10 ounce baby boy. I wasn't in Fayetteville on Sunday when he was born, but I went home on Wednesday to hang out with Mom before John and Sarah's wedding and got to see him them. We also stopped on our way back to Kansas City and David got to hold him.

Mom and I went shopping on Thursday and also went to lunch with Kathy at YaYa's. It was really great to be able to spend a little extra time at home. David came home LATE Thursday night with Ben and on Friday Kathy and I headed down to El Dorado for the Bridal Luncheon. We had a great time seeing all Sarah's friends and setting up for the rehearsal dinner together. The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner went great and the wedding was BEAUTIFUL. Sarah looked wonderful and the weather couldn't have been any better. It was a great weekend!

This was a good week at work. I led my first cheerleading practice this week, which was fun, and we're getting ready for parent/teacher conferences. David and I are getting really excited about Thanksgiving break though! Last night we had our first dinner with our new "Dinners for Eight" group. It was great and we got to see a new part of Kansas City...Olathe! Tonight we are going to the Westminster Auction for a little bit. It is the big fundraiser for the school and David will get to meet all my parents and the other teachers! We had our second and final grandparent's day of the year on Friday and I had my class make their "Thankful Thoughts" with their grandparents. I think it turned out as a pretty cute decoration!