Matchmaker, Matchmaker Make Me A ...

I matched!!! After weeks of ulcer forming, acne inducing stress, that day has finally arrived
We were supposed to get an email at 10AM today. I recently found out that the school got a list of unmatched applicants at 9:30 this morning and that they often contact people shortly after that time. My emails are forwarded to my pager, so when I felt a slight buzzing at my hip at a quarter to ten, my heart dropped, only to look at my pager and read the words, "Congratulations, you have matched."
Although we don't yet know where we are going, we know that we are going somewhere. Thursday is the big day that we'll find out what the future holds in store. Wish us luck.

Countdown to Match Day - 7 days and counting

Well,so here we are, one week out from Match Day. My match list has been in for a couple of weeks, which is to say, in spite of second thoughts regarding my first couple of choices for residency - the die is cast and the only reconciliation is the belief that divine providence will send us where we are supposed to go.

We got back from a cruise on Sunday, the Mexican Riviera (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta, keep your eyes peeled for a highlight video). It was a wonderful trip, a chance to soak up the sun (appropriately smoothered in SPF 80, of course), relax with my wife but most importantly to take my mind off the inevitability that is the Match.

Although next Thursday is hyped as "Match Day" at which point you recieve the ultimatum regarding your place of residence and training for the next half decade, the most important day for us dermies (as well as those applying to other competitive specialties id est plastics, radiology, etc, etc.) is next Monday when you get one of two emails: "Congratulations ..." or the devastating alternative. 10 AM Monday.

I keep telling Danielle how nervous I am for the big day and she tells me:
1)That she's supposed to be the worrier and I'm traditionally the one with the Buddhist mentality that everything always works out the way that it is supposed to and that God knows how to make us happiest. If our lives had worked out the way that we had planned we would be extremely unhappy.
2)I need to have more faith. Elder Bednar said in conference a year of two ago that God will micromanage our lives if we allow him to. We've tried to turn this whole thing over to him knowing that there are lessons to be learned and lives to impact whereever we go and that He knows where we are most needed. If this means that we have to reapply a second time, so be it.

In theory, the above makes a lot of sense and they are beliefs that Danielle and I have at the foundation of our lives. In practice, it is somewhat more difficult.

So, with Monday comes relief and Thursday, destiny.

The Interview Trail

So, here I am on the "interview trail" in Chicago (Stood on the 99th floor of the Sears Tower today).
I have a dermatology residency interview tomorrow at Rush. "Dermatology?" you say, "as in 'pimple popper,' ' zit picker,' or 'anti-ezcema extraordinaire.' "Yes, yes and yes," I answer, smiling at the simplifications of such a wonderful profession.
Tomorrow will be my 8th of 9 derm programs that I'll be interviewing at. Following is the list these programs, one of which (hopefully) I'll end up at next year.

In no particular order:
Utah
Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, WI
Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Rush, Chicago, IL
University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA
Geisinger, Danville, PA
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

The "Match List" (ie. the ranking of above programs in order of preference) will be turned in mid-February and then we find out March 15th where we'll end up (as stated before, provided we match this year).

Anyway, wish us luck. Quite a crazy adventure

Merry Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas to all of you! We hope this letter finds you all happy and doing well. 2006 has been a fun and eventful year for the Taintors! Let us catch you up on some of the latest and greatest…

ADAM has finally decided what he wants to be when he grows up…a Dermatologist. This came after much prayer and contemplation, but we feel so good about his choice! He is now in the midst of interviews for residency positions, an exciting and stressful process because of the competitiveness of dermatology. Keep your fingers crossed for us in the match in March. Right now he has interviews in New York, two in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Utah, Chicago, Florida, & Pennsylvania. And only about 2/3 of the Dermatology residency programs have offered interviews so far. We could end up living anywhere in the next few years! We look forward to Adam being an official MD in the next 6 months! It’s gone by so fast.
Adam and Danielle have been serving as the ward family history teachers for the past year, and Adam was just called as a gospel doctrine teacher.

DANIELLE is busy being the mother of three. On November 9th she gave birth to our third child, Caleb Marshall Taintor, and is so glad to no longer being sick and pregnant (she was sick for the whole 9 months with this one).
She has used her photography skills quite a bit this year, taking pictures of friends and family, and hopes to start a small home business doing photography in the next couple of years. She really likes doing both photography and using Photoshop to make announcements and cards, but it is also is a source of much frustration at the steep learning curve associated with it all.
She’s also teaching preschool, along with a few other mothers, to Kennedy and her friends for the second year in a row. She is also still working as a Community Advisor in the student housing where we live where she is on call for emergencies on occasion and plans activities for the residents living here. Her new calling is as a teacher in Relief Society.
KENNEDY is 4 ½ years old. She is always in the middle of an art project. Give her a few boxes, paper, glue, tape, and scissors and she can make the most amazing creations. Her room is always cluttered with past art projects even though they are weeded through weekly by her mother. She is loving preschool but can’t wait to start kindergarten next year. She knows all her letters and their sounds and can write them all. She is also learning basic math and desperately wants to learn how to tell time on a clock.
Kennedy and Seth enjoyed a trip to Disneyland in May. Kennedy was able to meet the Disney princesses and was amazed that everyone in the park called her a princess as well. It took some time before she stopped praying to be made into a “real princess”. She now prays to be a “real fairy princess.” Apparently a completely different creature.
Kennedy is a huge help with her new little brother and loves to hold him while sitting on the couch while Mom takes her shower every morning. She is currently taking a dance class and is trying to talk her parents into also letting her take: piano, soccer, swimming, and gymnastics. This is payback for Danielle taking every lesson in the world when she was a kid. A weird form of parental karma.

SETH is 2 ½ years old. He is a very caring kid. He loves all he meets. He is also full of energy and feistiness and loves to wrestle (much to the dismay of his sister). He loves Kennedy and copies most everything she says and does. He is currently taking a music class and loves it. He loves his new brother Caleb and is constantly being reminded to be soft with him because he just wants to love him to death.
This past year, Seth got his right index finger stuck in a treadmill. Needless to say, the treadmill won that battle, but with numerous visits to the burn clinic and painful therapy with mom and dad, Seth is winning the war. He may be a concert pianist after all.

CALEB is 1 month old. Born 11/9/06, 5 lbs 3 oz at full term. At one month and 8 ½ lbs he’s almost the size of a real baby. Daily schedule: Eats, sleeps, poops, repeat.
Caleb is very tolerant of his family’s constant loving of him and the chaos associated with living in our house. As our first brown, curly-haired, binky-sucking child, we’re waiting to see what other surprises he has in store for us. We’re excited to have him as part of our family.

This has been an incredible year for the Taintor family. Have a great Christmas as we all remember the Savior and His sacrifice. We’ll keep you all posted. Thanks for your part in our lives.

Merry Christmas 2005

Taintors 12-05
Originally uploaded by taintors.

We hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Holiday! Adam gets two weeks off around Christmas so we are going to play…play…play!
Let me give you the update on our family.
ADAM is in his third year here at the University of Utah School of Medicine. During third and fourth year he is in the hospitals and clinics working with patients and applying his knowledge from the past two years. Although this year is crazy busy, Adam is having loads of fun. He rotates, 6 weeks at a time, through the main specialties, from surgery, to working in the Psych ward, OB/Gyn, Pediatrics, etc. Although some of the rotations require him to be at the hospital at 4:30 AM, he’s still loving it, and comes home with some crazy stories. He still isn’t sure what he wants to be “when he grows up” (if that ever happens), but he’s starting to narrow it down and has to decide for sure by next fall…exciting! We’ll then go through the application and interview process to apply for residency programs. Danielle and Adam are currently the Family History Consultants in their university student ward.

DANIELLE loves being a Mom. She thinks she’s the luckiest person in the world that she just gets to stay at home and play. She is still the Community Advisor for the building where we live and loves getting to plan activities for the residents and being the first person to meet and welcome new families to the building. She is currently teaching a cycling class at the Jewish Community Center, about 3 minutes away from our home. Teaching there has some great benefits such as the outdoor pool where she, Kennedy, and Seth spent most their days last summer. Danielle has also had fun taking family portraits, which provides some extra money to play with. Danielle has also teamed up with three of her friends to teach preschool. It is every Monday and Wednesday for two hours, and each Mom takes a month at a time. There are just four kids, and it has been a blast to see what they are learning and also how creative each Mom is when it is their turn to teach. Kennedy knows almost all of her letters and the sounds they make now!

KENNEDY is 3 ½ now. She just got done doing soccer a month ago. Watching 3-year olds play soccer takes an amount of patience incomprehensible unless experienced. But, from watching her games we’ve decided to try dance classes next – she spent most of her time dancing and twirling in circles during her games. So much energy in such a little body. Kennedy is growing up so fast. She is very self-sufficient and is happiest if we let her do everything by herself, including making her own lunches, etc. She’s very proficient at it and only occasionally makes a mess, so we let her do it. Kennedy loves art and makes up all sorts of drawings and art projects using paper, crayons, tape, and glue (or whatever she can find). She is also a big help to Seth. She is such a patient sister, Seth loves to pull her hair and is always inviting himself to play with her, whether it is wrecking down forts she builds or playing the prince to Kennedy’s Cinderella. They are quite the team and best of friends.

SETH just barely turned 18 months old and had his first day in nursery at church last Sunday! Yea! His Mom and Dad are thrilled to go to class alone and actually be able to participate in the lessons without disrupting those around them! Seth is just a smiley, lovey, touchy kid. He is the first to give hugs to anyone he meets. He is at the age where he understands nearly everything that is said to him, but still can’t say much back. He imitates and watches his sister very carefully and is always ready for a wrestle. His cute personality provides a lot of laughs around our home.
We are so grateful for the wonderful blessings Heavenly Father has blessed our family with this year and we are continually grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. We wish you and your family well this holiday season!