We haven’t written to everyone for a while, so we thought that a note was due now that the winter is over and everything (including the sun) is coming out of
hibernation. For a while we were wondering if the Vermont winter was going to live up to its’ reputation. January was a pleasantly warm month (relatively) and the weather was looking up by the time Valentine’s day rolled around. For a few days we’d been hearing predictions of a good sized storm, but had doubts about it actually materializing. We woke up that Wednesday morning to fresh snow falling, fairly heavily. By lunch we had enough that the university cancelled classes and sent everyone home. By 4 pm the snowplows all gave up and the busses shut down. By that night we had over a foot of new snow outside our house. We woke up Thursday morning to find over two feed of new snow outside of our apartment. We had to literally dig out our front door. I don’t think I had ever seen that much snow outside of my house before. Some of the cars in the parking lot had so much snow blown onto them that there wasn’t more than an antenna sticking out.

Normally I’d be ecstatic for a snow day, but this one was a bit different. My mom was coming in to town for the school’s white coat ceremony. She was originally supposed to land in Burlington Wednesday evening (remember, right after the plows gave up and the busses went home…). Obviously the weather interfered with those plans somewhat, so she ended up spending the night in Ohio. My mom had to fly into Manchester NH (about 3 hours south) that morning, so we dug our car out of the snow and braved the roads down. It was quite an adventure.

That Friday we had the white coat ceremony, a tradition at the medical school representing the start of hands-on patient care. Along with the quintessential stethoscope, the white coat is one of the symbols of the medical profession. The meeting was held on campus in the Ira Allen chapel, where graduation will be three years from now. We heard from the dean and some other prominent members of the faculty about professionalism, ethics, and the process of becoming a physician. It was a very well done event, and very meaningful. I was especially glad that my mom was able to fly out and attend, despite one of the heaviest snowstorms they’ve had here in recent years.

All the guys at White Coat.

After white coat Kathryn took a break from the weather and went to California for her Birthday and the birth of Elizabeth's third baby Ezra. Everyone drove up for a birthday party and to see Braddock John and Kimberlee's third. It was so much fun and Elizabeth's baby, Ezra, finally came two weeks after his due date!! It was great to be there for the birth, and to be able to help her out for a week before heading back to the snow.

Elizabeth, Elijah and I with the cake. Grandma holding Braddock with Elijah and Isaac.

Travis, John, Elizabeth and I, we're Just missing Billy. The two pregnant ones.

Ezra

Now, of course, the most important thing going on for us is getting ready for our baby. We went in right after the holidays for an ultrasound and found out that we’re having a boy. I was hoping that would make it easier to figure out names, but we still haven’t made much progress. Either way, don’t worry, because we decided not to divulge anything too specific until after he’s born and we officially decide. Kathryn has been feeling pretty good through most of the pregnancy, which has been a blessing. She’s still substitute teaching several days a week, and finishing up all the projects on her list before the baby gets here (including reupholstering our couch and arm chairs). We’re gradually getting everything taken care of for the baby, and are of course very excited.

Next Friday I have my final in my current class (Nutrition, Metabolism and Gastrointestinal Systems), then we have a week off for spring break before I start my last class this year, Neuroscience. It’s hard to believe I’m almost finished with my first year of medical school. Some times I feel like I haven’t learned very much yet, other times I can’t believe how much material we’ve covered. The baby is due during the last week of Neuroscience, which will be an exciting way to kick off the summer. Obviously, there are a lot of plans that we can’t make for sure at this point, but after Kathryn and the baby recover, we’re planning on heading out to California for the last few weeks of the break. We miss you all, and are looking forward to seeing many of you this summer.