no sick days, no holidays, and no vacation

-none paid, that is. Lyle has no words to describe how much that infuriates him. I have a few things that annoy me about my job, but that is probably the main one.

November was a busy month filled with a few unpaid sick days, an unpaid holiday, and an unpaid vacation day. Thus, the rest of my time was filled with babysitting kiddos to keep money in the bank only to be used to pay for bills.

Lyle took the spotlight at school. The kids in Chinatown ate his routine up while he taught them how to brush their teeth. Lyle's professor put him on the spot as the model of what a great pediatric dentist should be and commented she hoped he was choosing that as his specialty. He unfortunately informed her that he was on another track. Personally, I don't want him to use up all his kid energy at work, I want him to save it for his babies someday! The praise really boosted his confidence in his work though. NYUCD rarely praises their students, so it was a nice change.

On a random note, one Sunday Lyle and I both woke up in a rush to get ready for church only to realize as we were sitting in our meetings that we matched! Lyle has two pairs of socks that are different than the normal boring black, and after a little encouragement picked these as one of them. Couples really do turn into each other!Saying he's a Beatles lover doesn't do justice to how intensely he adores the group. The fact that he needed a photo in front of the Restoration Hardware's design is only the tip of the iceberg. He's hiding the cig, as a health-care provider, he doesn't condone smoking.We enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal in company with friends, a mere 15 minute walk from our apartment, and with no cleanup afterward--my kind of meal! We finished the evening by kicking off the holidays by watching It's a Wonderful Life and eating sour gummy candy (a new tradition we may have started).

Our December has begun the same way November ended--BUSY. Lyle has finals and practicals jam packed throughout his schedule, and I've been busy with extra babysitting jobs galore! We are thankful for the opportunities the Lord has blessed us with this Holiday Season. We value the chances we have to work hard for our present and more importantly our future. I am taking moments here and there to try to soak up the magical feeling of Christmas, but most importantly, I am trying to remember our Savior's birth and His wonderful life on this earth. Without Him, I would be nothing.