Life is so good

Life is so good. Everything seems to be going our way. Austin has one more final before finishing with his third semester of medical school, (which means we have been here for one whole year already!) and is about to get another 4.0. He was elected vice president of AMSA, his teachers are fighting over who gets him to TA for their class, and he was chosen to be on the Welcome Committee during the break, which means that tuition is lower as a result. We had to vacate our house yesterday while they sprayed for bugs, so we spent the day at the pool at the Marriott. The timing was ironic and totally uncharacteristic of Austin of Austin to "play" during test time, but yes, he went swimming during Finals week!.. And got a mighty sunburn as a result. Poor thing. It takes more than sunscreen to make up for a year of being indoors. What are the chances that we run into Austin's Microbiology teacher while there? Well, we did and she whispers, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you got a 95!" Yay Austin! Test scores haven't even been disclosed yet, but he knows now that he got a 95% on his Micro final, which is pretty awesome considering this was another NBME- the National Exam. Go Austin! 

My days feel productive and never long enough. I have been hired to write scripts for kids to do group fitness along with a cartoon. As I understand it, it's part of the CORE curriculum now. Kind of cool, right? Currently, I write the script and notes for the cartoon animator who will then make a video clip of what I wrote. Eventually, I may get to be the voiceover, but we shall see. It's been a fun little side job. We may not have much income, but I feel very blessed to have little bits here and there through teaching gymnastics, Vasa, blog writing, and now this. It almost pays for groceries in a month.... almost. I'm excited to announce that my YouTube channel is now a reality and is up and running, now I just have to keep up. I called it JFY Fitness- pronounced "Jiffy" and short for "Just For You." I thought it was clever and I can play on the name. Anyway, here I am: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUb3IOyICsI3NwnKugSta6Rg

My birthday was a great time. Austin took me out for dinner- our first time going out on the island- to a place called Serendipity. We may have spent a little much, but we had the best time. We ate on a balcony that overlooked the port. It was pleasant outside and quite breezy. They brought a type of palate cleanser to start us off along with bread and then we both treated ourselves to a yummy dinner. I had a honey teriyaki salmon dish while Austin had a steak- the first in a LONG time that he has actually enjoyed. I can't remember the last time when he cleaned his plate, but he did that night. Eden even had a blast. She was the show to everyone's dinner- those eating and the staff. She did really well sitting at a table for dinner and ate a roll, some veggies, and 2 full glasses of ice. That was a hit! Ice. Who knew? 

Just when we thought we were stuffed and ready to go, they brought out a cheesecake with a sparkler on top. What a birthday! The whole restaurant, it seemed, joined in singing "Happy Birthday," but I just couldn't blow it out! Good thing Austin and Eden let me blow out a match while they sang Happy Birthday the next night so I could get my wish. Our good friend Joanna was so nice and made an ice-cream cake for me. That is a HUGE treat here! 

Again with the blessings, we were fortunate to meet Donna Peterson, one of Dad's patients at the port this week. She was very kind and so friendly. Her family came on a cruise and stopped here for a day and were so nice and brought a package from mom and dad. It was like Christmas! Eden and I looked so cute in our new outfits today at church and Eden has her own make-up. What a girl! She loves it. 

I have to note that Eden loves climbing. That's her new thing. She will climb anything and everything with a ledge. She is also really good at floating on her back. That all started when we were lucky enough to stay at the Marriott. I don't know where it came from, but she loves lounging back and could almost float on her own if I let her. 

Yep, so we have a happy family and count our blessings every day.