Heading Home

We had a great last weekend in KC. Yesterday we went out to Pleasant Hill to Anna and Richard's for brunch. The kids had been sick so we hadn't seem them in a couple of weeks and it was great to catch up before we left. I brought Arwen's party dress and it looked so perfect on her! She's adorable anyway but in that much pink - it's perfect! I was happy that she was happy.

After the visit we headed to the Plaza to see Silver Linings Playbook. It was a lot better than I thought it would be and I would recommend it. We were bundled up so after the movie (6:30pm) we went for a walk around the plaza, stopping at any store that caught our eye. It was a relaxing night.

Today we went to church in the morning and said our final goodbyes. Nathan really wanted to take up an offer to go out for lunch (thinking packing and cleaning would only take a couple of hours) but I knew it'd take a long time. We wanted to give the apartment a really good clean because our landlord (Annie) has been so awesome and we didn't want to leave work for her. This isn't a hotel - it was our home and it feels good to leave it looking as good as it did when we arrived.

The car is packed and ready to go for a 4am wake up and we're hoping to make the trip in one day but no promises! If we just can't do it, we'll stop. I downloaded a few books on tape to keep us going and we're going to share the driving this time (well, Nathan says we will but we'll see...I never drive with him in the car).

It's time to head to bed for our last night in KC (until July...fingers crossed)!

Everytime I head back to Boxall I think of the song my mom used to sing to me as a kid. It's a WWII song that Canadian soldiers would sing:

They told me in the Army, the girls are mighty fine

You ask for Betty Grable, they give you Frankenstein

Chorus:

Oh, I don't want no more of army life

Gee, ma, I want to go

Back to Ontario

Gee, ma, I want to go home!

They told me in the Army, the food is mighty fine

A pea rolled off the table and killed a friend of mine.

They told me in the Army, the drink is mighty fine

You order up a whiskey, they serve ya turpentine!

They told me in the Army, they love ta sing and dance

But no one said those Nazis would shoot me in the pants!

Last Day

Nathan thought that he would have to work on Monday but found out that today would be his last day instead. Rather than have a new doctor (he was mentored by a new doctor each week), have new patients (all of his patients had been discharges), and come in for just one day, he could finish on Friday.

He celebrated by wearing the same shirt today that he wore on his first day on Saba. I meant to take a picture but he got home so late tonight that by the time we ate dinner I completely forgot and he refused to recreate the look.

Nathan has finished medical school!

Nathan Sanderse M.D.

Date(s) Night

Tonight I went over to April's house to hang out while Nathan went with her husband Ryan, to meet up with John Mark at BB's BBQ. It's Nathan's favorite BBQ place and he wanted to go once more before we leave.

I had a free RedBox movie rental and April and I decided to watch Brave. We ordered a pizza from Sarpino's, a great pizzeria in Westport. We had our dinner, put baby Griffin to bed and each grabbed a couch to lounge in to watch our movie. It was a decent movie and we had a good time on our date.

Nathan came home stuffed and happy and said he had a great time as well. The band that was playing had an amazing harmonica player so Nathan was in heaven.

Merry Christmas!

Today Nathan and I started our Christmas off right - with french toast and all the toppings. We had plans to go to church last night for the 11pm service but Nathan fell asleep on the couch at 9pm so I watched It's a Wonderful Life and then we just went to bed.

We slept in 'til about 9 and then had our big, relaxing breakfast. We made the plan to go see Les Miserables since it opened today and we had friends who saw a preview of it and it was really good. I love musicals so I dragged Nathan since it was my turn to pick the movie. The theatre was packed - every seat was taken and I'm so glad that we got there early to get a seat on the aisle because in a 2 hour and 40 minute movie - you're going to use it.

About 10 minutes into the movie, I wished it hadn't been my turn to pick. It was terrible! Not only were the graphics really corny (nothing looked real) but the singing was medicore. Casting Russel Crowe in the lead? Don't we remember what happened when Pierce Brosnan was cast in Mama Mia?!?

Every line of the movie was sung - so really, the movie could have been an hour long except that I had to listen drawn out conversations with no consistency in tempo or tune. It was like a bad Saturday Night Live Skit- it almost became comical. I was really disappointed, but I like to see the movies that are nominated for big awards and it wasn't the worst movie I'd ever seen, it was just too big for it's britches.

Nathan and I sung our conversations the whole way home.

"Should we take Ward Parkwaaaaaayyyy???"
"What if theeeeerrreee isssss trafffffiiiccc!"

After an afternoon nap we got all dressed up to meet John Mark and Jill and McCormick and Schmidt's on the Plaza. There were only a handful of restaurants open today and we were lucky that Nathan thought to make a reservation early. When we arrived it was PACKED. We thought we would avoid the rush by eating right at 6pm, but there were so many people there who didn't even have reservations trying to get in. We still had to wait about 20 minutes but it wasn't too bad.

Once we got to our table we settled into a wonderful Christmas dinner. We had wine, appetizers, main course, and dessert - a real Christmas feast! The food was good but the company was best. JM and Jill even brought us a gift - a bottle of Kansas Wine!

One Week

First Day of School

Nathan has one more week of medical school before he is a doctor! It's been a long road and he's worked so hard. I can't believe how much we've gone through in these last 4 years, but seeing Nathan (well..us) work towards this goal has been the a constant for us through our trials and it's exciting to be so close!

White Elephant

Tonight Nathan and I crashed a gospel community group from church. Our group didn't have a Christmas exchange/get together so we met up with another crowd. Danny and Katie hosted in their wonderful home and we had a great night with way too much food.

 

The highlight was the white elephant gift exchange. I'd never played the game but had seen it on TV shows and movies. I thought it was a great opportunity to find a fun, creative gift that someone would want as a treat for themselves.

Nathan and I are always teased about being Canadian so we decided to use the theme "foreign" for our gift ideas. Nathan brought a package of 9 beers from around the world and I made up a package of candy from different countries.

At the end of the exchange I had stolen a Starbucks travel mug with a few different kinds of instant coffees (including the new cold coffee flavors) inside. Nathan stole a food pack that contained nutella, bacon flavored popcorn, and a scone mix.

Feelin' Like Christmas

Tonight we went to Po's Dumpling Bar on 39th street with April and Ryan (and baby Griffin). The food was really tasty and we had great conversation about our upcoming plans - for the holiday and the new year.

After dinner we headed back to their place for a Christmas treat. April had bought chestnuts and we roasted them over an open fire.

Living away from home (and only being here for a short time) it doesn't really feel like Christmas. We don't have any decorations- no lights, no tree, so to be able to be surrounded by Christmas and do something so traditional made us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I think this is why I get along with April so well (besides the love of country music), we like the traditional.

To prepare the chestnuts, you score the shells, cover them in water and bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Put in fire safe pan and roast over fire until shells begin to separate. The shells popped right off and we dipped them in butter and cinnamon. They tasted more like a potato rather than a nut but they were still really tasty and it was an experience I'll never forget.

Longest Night II

Tonight we had the Longest Night ceremony at the church. I think the weather kept many people away but the church was still quite full.

John Mark opened the service and then there were several community leaders including council members (one who had a child who was murdered), a prosecuting attorney, a police chaplain, and a pastor from a church east of Troost (a street that divides the high crime area from the rest of the city).

There was also a choir from the Calvary Baptist Church in KC. They were amazing. It was an all African American choir and the soul and praise was something I've never experienced. There was a soloist and at one point my mouth actually dropped open. It was amazing.

When the guest pastor spoke he was encouraging the congregation to speak out and be vocal. I started to think how I was sitting there holding in my tears and emotions and all these people around me are calling out "Amen!" and "Preach it!" and "That's me!" and I thought how much healthier that seemed. I didn't join in but it felt good to recognize the desire to let it out.

After the service we traveled outside to stand by the crosses as the names of the 100+ victims names were read. If there weren't family there, a church member would stand by the cross. I stood by Ryan Taylor's cross, he was 20 years old and was murdered April 12 and was KC's 36th murder. When I got home I googled his name and found a website that outlined all the murderers. I spent a lot of time looking at the pictures and reading the stories of the victims.

A very sad moment was when some of the families decided to take the crosses home. One young teen pulled out two crosses - as he lost 2 family members to murder this year.

http://homicide.kansascity.com/victims/50/

Ladies Who Brunch

This morning Nathan and I woke up to a big snow/ice storm. There wasn't a lot of snow but it was very windy and at 5am the roads hadn't been plowed or salted. I had plans for the day so I needed to drive Nathan. I was a little nervous but better that we replaced the tires on the car a couple of weeks ago.

I drove really slow and was lucky that there weren't many cars on the road. It was really slippery but I made it home safely.
Luckily, by the time I was heading out at 11am the sunshine had melted some of the snow and I felt good about driving (until a woman in a jeep decided she didn't need to stop at a red light and almost T- boned my car). It wasn't slippery, all the other cars stopped, I think she was just in a hurry.

I headed to the Classic Cookie Cafe in Waldo (about 8 minutes from my house) to meet with April and Madison. I thought it was going to be a bakery but instead it was a really cute, small restaurant that reminded me a lot of the Country Charm Cafe in St. Thomas, which is my favorite breakfast place.

We met at 11am so that we could choose breakfast or lunch and I chose breakfast! I love having a big breakfast and I splurged on the grand slam. I'm really going to miss my friends here, even though right now I really miss my friends at home, so it was good to soak up a few more hours of their company before we head home in a week.

When I got home I finally got to (serious) work on my latest sewing project. My friend Anna's daughter is having a birthday party early in the new year and asked me if I could sew a party dress for her. I was really nervous, especially since she only sent me a picture and Arwen's measurements. I didn't really know what I was doing, but a lot of pink later - including SIX yards of tulle, this is what I came up with. It's not perfect, but I think it's really close to the picture (she wanted pink instead of red). I can't wait to bring it to church on Sunday!

Home Sweet Home

Today I was tidying up after Nathan went to work and I noticed his pj's on the railing. Nathan loves to tuck his clothes in. He hates drafts and will act irrationally if you pull his shirt out from his pants. So today when I saw his sock still tucked into his pants it was so cute and so classic Nathan that I just had to take a picture.

It tells me that being home is his comfort zone and it made me really happy to see.

Part 10

The image of the left was taken in 1931, as you can see, not much has changed in 80 years.

This is a Venetian well head located at 61st and State Line Road. I couldn't find any information of on whether it was placed for any reason besides decoration, but I loved that it was still there!

The Armour-Swift-Burlington (ASB) Bridge, also known as the North Kansas City Bridge, is a rail crossing over the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri that formerly also handled car traffic.

The piers were built in 1890. However, later that year, lack of funding prevented the bridge from being built. In 1909, John Alexander Low Waddell designed the current bridge and construction started.


The bridge is one of two of this type that had car traffic on Route 9 on the upper level, and rail traffic on the lower level. The lower deck could be raised to permit riverboats to pass without interrupting car traffic on top. This design allowed the hangers from the lower deck to go through the truss members of the upper deck.

In 1996 the remaining part of the ASB was designated as a national landmark in civil engineering.  The ASB has a 428-foot main span, and makes it the ninth longest vertical lift draw bridge in the United States. It is also a tourist attraction, as many people visit it each year. This is also one of two of this type ever built

Adorable Sunday

Today at church the kids from the nursery came out to sing a couple of songs and hear a Christmas story. All the kids came out all dressed up and they were so adorable. They did a great job of performing and it was a great addition to the service.

Nathan wanted to have a quiet afternoon so we just stayed home and rested all afternoon. Nathan had some studying to catch up on so I cuddled up with a cup of tea and my new Canadian Living magazines that Marlene sent me. I already have my recipes ready for the week!

Date Day

Nathan has been really sick this week. He never gets sick so if he's saying that he's sick, it's usually pretty bad so when he woke up today feeling great we decided to get out of the house.
My friend Anna asked if I would make a birthday dress for her daughter Arwen and I am so excited to put it together. It's such a cute design and I'm excited to get started - it's all PINK! So for our first stop I dragged Nathan to Joann's. Every time we go together he tells me the story of how when he was a kid his mom took him to Joann's and left him in the ball pit for HOURS! I nod my head compassionately at his dramatics.

We went early because yesterday was the start of their multiple coupon day - they sent out six 50% off coupons. This is kind of a big deal. Also, since I have two emails, one for me, one for the blog, I had 12 of them. I managed to get all my materials for super cheap and I'm excited to have this project to keep me busy before we leave again.

After that we drove out to the Legends. It's an outdoor mall. I went with my parents last year but Nathan had never been. It's a really great place that has mostly outlets and really good deals. We didn't need anything but it was such a nice day that we just wandered and window shopped. We even stopped at Panera Bread to share a coffee and bagel.

On our drive we passed by a Kmart that had a big STORE CLOSING sign so I begged Nathan to pull in. Although I don't do a lot of shopping at Kmart, the whole store was 40% off! That means makeup, nail polish, and Christmas cards! The store was really busy and the toys were going really fast but there was still tons of cosmetics. I picked out a new Essie polish - I couldn't believe how cheap it was!

We thought about going to see a movie since most theatres in KC have $4 matinees but we couldn't agree on what to see and since we had a big night ahead of us we headed home.

We met up with Steve and Madison and Miss Melody at Chipotle for dinner tonight. Madison has also been sick this week and Steve is in school (exam time) so we haven't seen much of dear friends. It was so good to be able to catch up tonight over a delicious meal. Chipotle is quickly becoming one of our favorite meal places - and the meals are so big that Nathan and I can split one!

After dinner we all drove out to Lee's Summit to hear Rich, the worship leader at our church play in concert. The concert features 2 solo acts and one group. I couldn't imagine writing my own songs, then writing the music, then getting up on stage to sing them- that takes guts! I am not that brave so when I see these amazingly talented people I'm just in awe. Rich (as always) did an awesome job. I even won a CD prize during the draw portion of the event!

Starting At Home

This is a bit of a personal post, but it was something that was so overwhelming for me today. When I turned on the TV this morning and saw the horrible news from Connecticut about all those children being killed in their classroom I just cried. I was so sad to think of those poor parents getting those heartbreaking calls and the fear and then guilt of those that didn't know if their child was OK, then to find out they had been spared.

Where my sadness turned to frustration was when I turned on my computer and my facebook news feed was flooded with status' that said things like, "praying for the families", "I'm holding my children extra tight tonight because I couldn't imagine them not being here," "I couldn't imagine the hurt of the parents," etc. All of these points were valid, but what bothered me was how many of these people knew that I had a child who died and have never said these words to me. My facebook community is small, those I share my story with are people I consider friends. I was disappointed that several of them who never contacted me could say to complete strangers (who would never hear their words) what I really needed to hear 7 months ago.

It made me start to think about how important it is to connect with a community. How sad is it that we have people standing beside us who are suffering and we don't comfort them instead we feel more comfortable typing words that those in pain will never hear.

Of course I believe that prayer should be bestowed upon the families, and maybe it was selfish to think of my own journey through the grief today. I feel so deeply for those parents and I'm thankful everyday that I'm one day further from the initial LOSS DAY because each day makes me a little stronger, but it was painful for me to see my experience as not newsworthy, not worthy of of an opportunity to comfort.

This week at Wornall Road Baptist Church, the names of those murdered in Kansas City were applied to the crosses that line the church yard. On December 20, the church will once again host the Longest Night, an event that focuses on families who have lost family or friends due to violence in Kansas City.

I think this is such a wonderful event and I'm so proud to be a part of a church that feels so deeply for the losses of others.Our pastor always says that we have to start in our own homes, in our own communities. At first I was uncomfortable going into Southwest, the highschool that Wornall partners with. Maybe I felt awkward that we were feeding them before games when JM told us that some of them didn't have enough to eat on a daily basis. But pushing through that uncomfortableness, I've had some really cool memories at that school. I've met and got to know a lot of the students, helped with a cheerleading routine, and taken team pictures for the last 2 years. I think of how different my relationship with my new friends, my church, and my community would be if I had of missed an amazing opportunity for compassion.

New Threads

A few years back Nathan found a medical supply store called Medelita. He wanted a white coat that would support the pounds information and supplies he had to carry around each day and the standard white coats just didn't cut it. He ordered a "short coat" from the company and also requested extra fabric (sample pieces). The company sent it to us and I spent a few days sewing the extra fabric into hidden pockets in the coat.

The coat has served him well over the years and he's becoming quite the advertisement at the hospital, telling everyone about the coats - he's such a trendsetter!

Nathan has his last month in the ICU and unlike last month, he will be wearing scrubs most days so he found at his favorite store. These scrubs are thicker and have pockets at the hip and on the legs. Nathan loves them - I made him pose for this picture after a 13 hour shift at work.

Part 9

At first I didn't know why this house was in the Missouri Special Collections at the library, but after some research I deiscovered that the house was designed by Edgar Faris, a prominent KC architect. 

Fair, born in Wheeling, West Virginia on November 9, 1882, Faris studied at the Kansas City Art Institute with works dating between 1908-1922. The home, located at 232 West 52nd Street was built in 1921. Although primarily an architect, he moved to Miami in 1926 after gaining a "a national reputation as a landscape and portrait painter."  Faris was well known for his style and was "especially adept in the design of Mediterranean-influenced structures," including business buildings, apartments, and residences. 

The following buildings were designed by architect Edgar Faris: 

• The John Ford Drug Store and later Tapestry Brick building at 2700-2702 Prospect Avenue (1909)
•  Twin apartment buiidngs at 901-907 East 39th Street (1909)
• The William H. Collins residence at 232 West 52nd Street (1924)
•  The Rose Kallaian and Garabed Yegeshaian store and residence at 4163 Broadway (1923)
•  The Alcazar Apartment Hotel at 3609 Baltimore Avenue(1925)
•  The Ponce de Leon Apartment Hotel at 4553-4555 Main Street (1925)    

The 3 story, 5 baths home on 52nd street stands nearly identical to its original design.  

Faris died in Los Angeles on July 5, 1945.


 

Part 8

The Kansas City Star, originally called the Kansas City Evening Star was founded on September 18, 1880 by William Rockhill Nelson and Samuel E. Morss.  The men moved to Missouri from Indiana where they sold their previous newspaper, which would later become the Fort Wayne Sentinal.

Morss quit the business within 18 months due to ill health and Nelson was left to defend the paper against it's competition alone. There were 3 other KC newspapers at the time, The Kansas City Times, The Evening Mail, and the Kansas City Journal. The KC Times editor, Eugene Field wrote this about the Kansas City Star:

Twinkle, twinkle, little Star,
Bright and gossipy you are;
We can daily hear you speak,
For a paltry dime a week.

Nelson's business strategy called for cheap advance subscriptions and an interntion ot be "absolutely indepentent in polics, aiming to deal all men and parties wih impartialilty and fearlessness." Nelson fully purchased the Star in 1882 and in 1901 bought the Kansas City Times.

The Star had several famous workers. First was Harry S. Truman, who worked two weeks in August 1902 in the mail room, making $7.00 the first week and $5.40 the second. In 1950 Truman half joked in an unmailed letter to Star editor Roy Roberts, "If the Star is at all mentioned in history, it will be because the President of the U.S. worked there for a few weeks in 1901." The second was Ernest Hemingway, who developed him trademark style while writing for the paper. Ernest Hemingway was a reporter for the Star from October 1917 to April 1918. Hemingway credited Star editor C.G. Wellington with changing a wordy high-schooler's writing style into clear, provocative English.


The paper was first printed on the second story of a 3-story building at 407–409 Delaware. In 1881 it moved 14 W. 5th Street. In 1882 it moved to 115 W. 6th. In 1889 it moved to 804–806 Wyandotte Street. In 1911 it moved into its Jarvis Hunt-designed building at 18th and Grand.

The current building, a massive $199 million, two -block long, glass-enclosed printing and distribution plant on the northeast side of the Star's landmark red brick headquarters at 1729 Grand Avenue. The plant began printing in June 2006. It took nearly four years to build, and is considered a major part of the effort to revitalize downtown Kansas City. The plant contains four 60 foot high presses. On June 4, 2006, the first edition of the Star came out from the new presses with a major redesign in the sections and the logo.


The paper has earned eight Pulitzer Prizes since it's opening.

KU Interview

Billy arrived yesterday and after picking him up from the airport, we went to pick Nathan up from work. Nathan has been really excited to see Billy. When they get together there is a lot of silliness and laughing in the house and I know Nathan needed the mental break.

Last night they each had their pre-interview dinners with the other applicants (who are also being interviewed tomorrow) and the residents. Nathan met with the Internal Medicine applicants and Billy met with the PM& R crowd (physical medicine and rehabilitation). They met at different restaurants but drove together and were back home by 10pm.

They left for Kansas University at 6:15am this morning and said that their interviews went really well. The interviews were only at KU (as opposed to UMKC which split the day between St. Luke's and Truman) so the boys were both home by 2pm.

Each of the guys got swag bags from their interviews. Billy got a cool (warm?) KC toque and Nathan got some snacks - popcorn and chocolate, an Internal Medicine travel mug, some KC coffee, and some Jack Stack's BBQ rub - I can't wait to try it out on some pulled pork next week!