I'm feeling grateful

Peter and I are currently in San Antonio while Peter does his surgery rotation. The hotel that they put us up in is also the same hotel where many men and women come to stay while recovering from serious injuries from war. It's humbling to see so many individuals in wheelchairs with life altering injuries everyday. Breakfast is free here at the hotel so every morning people congregate to the breakfast hall. It's there that I really see these individuals and their families. It's so sad to see them and understand that their lives have recently changed drastically. My heart breaks as I watch them with their parents and their children every morning.

The other day there was a young man (under 21 at least) talking to his siblings about how he lost his leg. He described in detail how he stepped on an IED while his siblings were captivated by his story. I couldn't help myself, I wanted to hear his story. He then went on to tell his brother (probably 10 years old) to do well in school because there is so much to enjoy in life. He advised him to get good grades so he didn't have to join the infantry. By this point tears are rolling down my cheeks. It's not fair that this young man lost his leg and that his life has changed dramatically. He's so young! My sadness for this young man and all those recovering here also includes a great deal of gratitude. Although I am so sorry and sad that they have to experience such hard things in their lives, I'm also so grateful that they are willing to make these sacrifices for you and me. They are brave and willing to serve. I'm so grateful for them and hope that Peter and I might be able to serve those who have sacrificed so much.

Happy Birthday to Peter

Last week was Peter's birthday. Since he was on call the night of his birthday, we had a nice dinner out the night before. We went to Saltgrass( a highly recommended steak place) with some friends. The food was great! The night of Peter's birthday, his intern was nice enough to let him come home for dinner. So we got to spend some time together and he got to celebrate a little with a birthday cake.

I love that I'm the lucky girl that gets to spend all of Peter's birthdays with him for the rest of forever.

Our month in Virginia

Just before Christmas our time in San Diego came to an end and we headed back to DC/VA for a month. The first week was full of classes for Peter and a conference for me. Almost every night that week we met up with friends to catch up since it's been so long since we've seen everyone. Here's a picture of the sunset one morning of the way to work and pictures of a "Minute to Win It" game our friends Chris and Leigh threw.

Then the following two weeks were spent having fun with Peter's family. All the siblings except for Tommy and his family were in town. It was really fun to be able to spend time with everyone. We spent most of our time playing games, eating, watching movies and football, and playing basketball. We went to the temple one day to see the lights and another day to go inside. We even spent a day in the city viewing some of the museums and showing things off to Kathy. We attempted to go ice skating, but the wait was too long. So we headed over to a friends for pizza and Settlers of Catan. I'm not sure if introducing that game to the Bell family was a good

choice or not. We spent the next several days playing all the time and there were many boisterous games. New Years Eve was spent a First Night in Alexandria

enjoying musical performances throughout the night and ringing in the New Year with a firework show at the Masonic Temple.

The last week in VA was spent saying goodbye to family and some more work and school. We are now in San Antonio for the next 2 1/2 months for Peter's surgery rotation. The weather was about 70 degrees when we arrived, so I think we're going to enjoy our time her for the winter.