This past weekend provided a much-needed reunion of my best friends from Auburn. The city of Chattanooga and Lilley played fantastic hosts, and our time together (as usual) passed much too quickly. The history of our friendships spans back to shortly after our arrival in Auburn, and these girls have loved and supported me through some of my life's happiest and most difficult times. They are consistent, loving, and fiercely loyal. I remember them crowding onto my twin bed in the dorm to comfort me in the loss of my childhood dog, Holly. They celebrated with me when I was accepted to med school. They grieved with me in the loss of my grandfather, Pop. They shrieked with excitement when I got engaged (Lilley cried).  They oo-ed and ah-ed when I brought home my puppy Bella (Lilley cried again). They stood next to me when I married my best friend. They prayed for my family when Nonnie got sick, and supported me with phone calls and letters when she passed away. Since graduation, our little group of 5 has quickly become 9, adding 3 husbands and 1 adorable baby... 

Their friendships are truly a gift, and are never for a moment taken for granted.

Last night, my med school friends and I decided to put school aside for an evening and explore our artistic sides at Sips & Strokes. For those of you not familiar, it is a business that hosts a painting class several nights a week, and groups of girls (and a few brave boys) gather together for fellowship and painting instruction. While it is difficult for us Type A personalities to give up straight lines and smooth edges, we were quite pleased with how things turned out. 

Regardless of the final resting place for our paintings, we had a fantastic time and plan on returning regularly.

On another family note, our dog, Bella, suffered a minor casualty this week.  So to catch you up on the story, last Saturday afternoon we went out to Oak Mountain state park and went hiking on a nice long trail.  Bella was loving life because she was let off the leash to run freely.  Well...a few days later, Em discovered some bites on her underbelly which we figured must have come from running wild out in the woods.  I don't believe Shih-Tzus are made to run free out in the woods, being that they are loaded with lots of hair and are built very low to the ground.  However, that is not where the story ends.  So, we're getting ready for bed on Thursday night and Em discovers a nasty scab on Bella and so we examine the scab.  Em, being the medical professional that she is, decides to peel off the scab because it looks very unhealthy.  After peeling off the old scab, we take my electric razor out and shave her hair around that area in order to keep it clean and maybe try to put a band-aid on that spot.  If you've ever tried to put a band-aid on a dog, you know that it does not work.  So before bed, we have to figure out some way to keep Bella from scratching at the spot with her hind leg and making it worse.  So, in my infinite fashion wisdom, I decide that it might work if we cut one of Emily's sleeves off of one of her old t-shirts and pull it over Bella's neck.  So, to answer your question that popped into your head when you first looked at this blog....that is why Bella has what looks like a t-shirt over her neck.  We like to think of it as doggie Under Armour. Here are some other photos from our day at the park...

So that's it for now.  Hopefully you Fain blog followers enjoyed tonight's blog.  Check back soon for more updates on the Fain family.