Almost half-way there

And so we made it to the weekend - and what an emotional week it has been!!  Coincidentally, our two beloved, crazy, and sometimes annoying cats, were swept away to new homes on the same day last weekend.  It was heartbreaking, and we are just hoping that the two couples who adopted them will offer them more attention and give them a more indefinite home than we could. Our neighbor's cat, however, is not handling it quite so well. He has been circling our house, and peeking in the curtains all week looking for his partner in crime.  I swear that they were related - both fluffy as heck, and the same big green eyes.  I miss  my little Henle ):
We made it through our Week of Exam Hell, too.  We came out alive.   Let's just say there is always room for improvement with scores, but I - at least - can't complain (and Chad really shouldn't either!)
The official marking of "midterm" for us is our first Practical Exam.  This is the exam where we perform a [fake] x-ray exam on a [fake] patient.  We get graded on how well we position the patient for the exposure, the exposure techniques we use, cassette factors, etc. Throughout the program, this is always the more dreaded and anticipated part of the term - essentially what we spend all of our time practicing for.  This happens on Monday, for us.  The term has seemed to fly by so quickly, it feels as though we have had hardly any time to practice!!  That should give you some idea of where our weekend will be spent as soon as we get out of work!!

A tribute to our fluffy friends: Hen-Lizard, Ledlers, and Terrence, who has seemed to of dissapeared with the cat food, too ):

Ledley

Henle

Terrence

The Balancing Act

And so it has begun, our balancing act of school - work and play- relaxation and determination- that little number always at the back of our minds: 9. 9 more months, and then the school year is over.
Maybe not the best way to approach it, but hey- whatever keeps us going, right? I am amazed that time has flown by. We have just finished our third week of school…I think and we are already looking into the face of our first Practical. Melissa has a much better track record with these things than me. I tend to stress myself out to the point that I make stupid mistakes, costing me precious points. Next week is a big week for us; exams in Pathophysiology, Positioning and Surgery Trauma! At this point I don’t really feel prepared for any of them but I think that’s about normal.
We are a step or two closer to getting our ducks in a row with our Australian Visa, a snafu with Melissa’s student aid has pushed our time frame back a bit but I am confident that we will have things sorted by the end of the month.  
The weather has begun to change and it’s starting to get really cold here at night. I am dreading the snow but I keep telling myself this is the last year I will ever have to live in the stuff.
That’s about all the news I have right now. Melissa and I appreciate those of you keeping up with us. Be sure and check back this next week to see how Melissa and I did on our exams.
Thanks-
Chad