adoptable pets

As some of you know, I have a regular habit of looking for a pet dog on the computer. In fact, Kyle laughs at me and says I am addicted. I don't think so, though. I love dogs and if I could have my way, I would adopt many that don't have homes and give them a loving place to live where they could run and romp around a big yard. Nonetheless, I cannot logically have many dogs now nor do I have a big yard. I just wanted to make you aware that is a great place to find a new pet. On this site, you type in your zip code and can search by pet, size, breed and other criteria to find a pet that is waiting to be adopted. I sent this site along to our family friend Ed and his family found and adopted their dog, Domino. I love animals...and I think that this site will make you smile.

officially homeowners

That's right, everyone. We made our down payment and the title is now in our name. We are truly homeowners now! Can you believe that just a year ago, all I knew was that I was getting married and moving to Cleveland...the rest at that time was a question mark. Now we both have good jobs, own a house, and are grown ups. Does it seem kinda crazy to you? We laugh about it all the time. However, when one of my middle schoolers asked if I had an elementary age child, I brought back reality reminding them that I am only 22. God continues to bless us and I continue to be amazed at that each and every day. Come and visit this summer! We move in on June 8.

doctors can really make a difference in their patients' lives

This afternoon, my dad informed me that my pediatrician (who was my doctor since I was born) died unexpectedly in his sleep last week. He was only 52 years old and had no health problems. I was surprised how much hearing this news upset me but it also made me realize what a profound effect people like doctors can have in our lives.

When I was little, I had really bad allergies. I was allergic to anything and everything including cats, bunnies, shedding dogs, dust, pollen, grass...you name it, it probably made me sick. I always felt bad about it, like I was missing out on fun things in life because it made me sick. However, Dr. Pomeranz always made me feel like I was normal, I wasn't wierd or messed up and with the right combination of medicines, I could experience spring and summer the way that every kid wanted to: outside. He remembered everything about me: my orthodontic issues, my violin lessons, soccer, the awkward phase of junior high, and my love of singing to name a few. He never was too busy to ask me about these details when I came in for a visit. In fact, I went to see him a little less than a year ago for a physical before I moved away and got married, and he again remembered everything and showed a profound amount of compassion and care for me, as I am sure he did from all of his patients.

By looking back at my visits to his office, one theme prevails: care. He was one of the most caring people I knew and I am sure that he will leave a legacy for those to follow in his footsteps. So as people like Ryan are graduating from medical school and are entering their lives as physicians, always remember the difference that you are capable of making in the lives of those around you and never take that honor for granted.

oh what a beautiful day

Spring has finally sprung here in Cleveland! Kyle and I drove past our new house today and we were both pleased to see that the grass is green and the lawn looks immaculate! We move in our house June 8 (just 2 days after I finish school) and we are so excited! On Thursday, we officially paid the down payment (which took away a significant amount from our account) and it is good to be this close. The title is now officially in our name and the seller will be renting back from us until we move.

Also, we went to the state park beach today (which is right by our house) and skipped stones and had milkshakes. If that wasn't enough to make the day great, my neighbor brought us over homemade fried chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner unexpectedly and simply made our night. Good weather certainly lifts the spirits, does it not?

my sister-in-law has the coolest blog

Its true. No matter how often I intend to write something interesting on my blog, Amber keeps her's up and does a great job. So many interesting things every day...mine on the other hand, well, just doesn't compare. If you haven't visited her blog, do so! It will make her smile!

The address for her blog is http://www.ambercox.blogspot.com/

yet another laughable moment

Today, I gave my eighth grade students a quiz where they were to choose 2 styles of music that they were very familiar with and list the characteristics of each. As I was grading the quizzes, I noticed that one student listed that the TUBA was found in rap music. Really??? I had a good laugh.

Fun times in Florida

We arrived in Florida on Saturday night and have had a lot of fun so far. We have gone to the Lion Country Safari and I got to feed a giraffe amongst other interesting things. We also got to see all sorts of wild animals there and Kyle got some cool pictures. On Sunday, Norm and Bonnie took us to a Habachi Japanese Steakhouse and it was a very fun and entertaining meal. Norm took a great picture of me trying to catch a zucchini that the chef threw at me. Enjoy that picture.

Yesterday, Norm took Kyle on his first Florida flight over the Everglades, Atlantic Ocean, and over the Lion Country Safari. Kyle loved it and got some cool aerial shots. They even saw some sea turtles swimming from 500 feet above the water! They must be huge if they saw them from that high. Norm let Kyle fly the plane for a while and he said that Kyle was a very good pilot. He explained that oftentimes, when new people try to fly, they overcompensate and are all over the place. Kyle was not that way. We then went to the beach where I preceded to sunburn my legs (BIG time!) and that was fun but a little painful. Then we ate at Houstons on the Intercoastal Waterway and that was so fun. Busy day!

Today we are just relaxing and enjoying the time left here. We just ate at a Mexican Restaurant which was really yummy and now we are kicking back and enjoying a siesta. One more day left in Florida...then back to the cold!

We survived Washington D.C.

Three days, 180 students, 8 teachers, 5 hours of sleep each day, LOTS of sight-seeing. In a nutshell, that sums up the 8th grade trip to D.C. I think I saw more national landmarks in the past 3 days than I have ever seen in my life! Some of the places that we visited inclued: the National Cathedral (where I sang freshman year with Chapel Choir), Arlington National Cemetary, Jefferson Monument, Washington Monument, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, WWII Memorial, Air and Space Museum, Museum of Natural History, Naval Yard (where we toured a battleship), Naval Museum, the White House(only the outside), Gettysburg Battlefield, and my personal favorite, the Capitol Building.

The Capitol Building tour was great because the representative from our district gave us the tour himself. He grew up in Madison and went to our school and let us sit on the House floow and showed us how they vote for bills and let us try it ourselves. I tried to instill what a unique opportunity it was to sit on the floor of the House, since all other visitors only get to go in the gallery. If you have ever seen CSPAN or the State of the Union address given by the President each January, that is where we were (and I actually got to sit in his chair!). Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures of the House floor because of security reasons. I included some pictures of the trip and as you can see, it was a tiring but enjoyable experience. Tomorrow, Kyle and I leave for sunny FLORIDA! Spring break is finally here!

Music galore!

SO, its been a while since I have blogged and for that, I apologize because its been REALLY busy around here. Last week, I attended 3 concerts in 3 days and that was fun. Especially going to my friend Abbie's organ recital at CIM. Abbie and I met on my first day at Hope and have become better friends since. She is a very gifted musician and watching her play the organ gives one the illusion that its easy...but it is really difficult! Kyle and I loved going to her recital and it was in a gorgeous church in downtown Cleveland. Kyle brought his camera along and got some really great pictures. We are so proud of her!

Last Sunday, I went with the other choir director at my school to see the Cleveland Orchestra perform a Beethoven piano concerto and Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique. The Berlioz piece is called a program symphony, which basically means that it tells a story and the audience gets a copy to read during the performance. This work is one of my favorite to listen to and teach because of the large orchestra and the dark twisted story that gracefully accompanies the music. It was a phenomenal concert and I have come to find out that the Cleveland Orchestra is among one of the best in the world. To find out more about the orchestra or the Berliz piece, click here: and .