The Hazard Chronicles

Well, I suppose I ought to begin this post with a short apology for not posting last week. I'm sorry. Our kids were a little sick and I was a little tired and, well, I guess the motivation just wasn't there.

But that does NOT mean that it was a slow week. Not by a far shot. Actually, Rachel and I have both been really, really busy lately.

Let's start with Rachel. First of all, and most excitingly (is that even a word?), she got a job! She has been looking around ever since we moved here for an opportunity to get out and put her interpreting skills to work. Finally, she found the perfect place. North Idaho College has hired her to interpret a couple of classes one day a week that a deaf girl is taking. It's the perfect situation for Rachel. She gets to work regularly, but not too much. The timing is predictable so she can find babysitters well in advance. And the pay is good enough to justify paying for a babysitter (though only barely). It is a great set-up for her and I am happy for her. I seriously don't know how she has been maintaining her sanity with nothing really going on in her life except for kids. Sometimes, I think she wonders the same thing. Now, finally, she has a chance to get out once a week and persue something that is exclusively "hers." I think that is important, and I am very proud of her for doing this. I think I'll start calling her "Super Wife."

As for me, as I explained in the last post, I have started my new job. I love it! I have a lot to learn from this place and I think that when I leave (whenever that may be) I will be extremely well equiped to run the kind of office I see myself having. First of all, the business organization of this place is absolutely amazing. This guy (Dr. Loftus) has put a lot of time and money into finding the BEST ways to run a dental office, and the systems he has in place are all so impecably implemented so as to pretty much assure that the business succeeds. Second, the possibilities for growth as a clinician are virtually unlimited at this new job. We are set up to do anything, from the most routine to the most advanced stuff that dentistry has to offer. We have the technology and the training to do some really cool stuff. Dr. Loftus refers out very, very little, and I get to watch him do a lot of this kind of thing. Also, with his mentorship, and the study club that I now get to be a part of (more on that later), I am getting to the point where I don't have to refer very much either. From complicated extractions and root canals to surgical implant placement, bone grafting, and sinus procedures, I am able to pretty much do it all. I love my job!

And then there is the study club. We meet once every two months, and it is a whole weekend affair. I attended my first meeting last Friday and Saturday. The first day is pretty much all just super educational, with cases being shown and talked about, and lectures given by different members. There is also a live demo surgery that we watch and then discuss as a group. The second day is surgery day. This is where I can schedule a patient to come in (at greatly discounted prices to them) and push my limits by doing some of the coolest surgical procedures that there are, all under the careful tutalage and mentorship of over twenty other doctors who have devoted their lives to this kind of dentistry. This study club is limited to twenty members and draws people from all over the Northwest. Once you are in, you are in for life, so it's a pretty exclusive club and hard to get into. Well- I'm in. Like I said, I love this job!

Anyway, now that I have shown my true colors as a through-and-through dental NERD, I suppose I ought to talk about something else that is a little more...cool.

How about FIRE. That's cool.

There's not really tons to say here. We started a new Hazard family tradition. Every January we will now have the annual burn-the-Christmas-tree-day. First we let the tree sit in the garage until it is good and dry. Then we watch it go up in a blaze of glory!

The kids liked this. I did too.

Well, that's about it for us. Everyone's doing well. Rachel has a very large belly, but still gets around alright. Addy learned how to climb out of her crib last night. Jackson is the only one of our kids who understands the mechanics behind throwing a ball. Evelyn lives in a fantasy world full of monsters, princesses, ice skaters, and Clifford, the big red dog. I have not run more than a mile in the past 4 months and I am starting to feel out of shape. Life is good.

 Here we are watching the fire burn down. The big blaze-o-glory part is done already. We didn't have the camera for that part. Sorry- I guess you just had to be there to appreciate it.

Evelyn and Jackson found some rather large sticks and decided that they were bad guys who needed to skewer the pregnant mama. It was funny watching Rachel try to run from them while they chased her around the yard. :)