the job search

finding a job could be one of the absolute hardest things for me.  i have a firm belief that i am a good employee and that i work hard.  i would be most employers dream employee.  yet, it stresses me out to no end.  mainly because i have never really known what i have wanted.  i always just need "anything that will pay the bills."  so i broadly search for anything that has openings.  i really hope this time next year, when i am actually ready to work in the field i want, that i will have the courage to waltz into any dentist's office, throw down my application, and explain to him/her why he/she would be the biggest fool for not hiring me right there and then.  i also want to have an understanding that if they do decide to be the biggest fool that day, to not take it personally.

dad graduates too!

my daddy graduated on saturday and so the family went out for lunch after.  brad, holly, and bryan couldn't make it but here are the rest of us.  brayden looks like he has had too much to drink already.  haha.  clearly i have the cutest niece and nephews.

baptism

blake and i have had the pleasure of meeting this amazing young lady halyee (aka hales).  

she chose to be baptized this past saturday.

i am so impressed with her testimony, her willingness to obey all of God's commandments, and to set such a powerful example to those around her, myself included.

it will be fun to watch her grow in the church.

graduation day

Blake graduated from ASU yesterday with a degree in finance.  He has already been working as a commercial real estate broker at the Benjamin Group for some time now.  He has been working hard balancing full time work, full time school, a church calling, and spending time with me.  My love language is time, which is great for our relationship but put a lot of added stress on him these past few semesters as he has been doing so much.  He graduated with well over a 4.0 GPA.  There was not one person in his graduating class that could possibly have more A+s than he does.

 Here is his name up on the sign when they called out his name.

 Like any graduation, it was a long ceremony.  Here is the small moment we were there to see.  The speakers were pretty good.  There was a student selected to the the outstanding graduating senior.  Blake was nominated and would have blown the winner of it out of the water with his speech.

 Blake said it was a shame for someone as good looking as him and have to wear a hat, so i wore it instead.

 I am so proud of him.  He is my best friend.

 When I think about the business man Blake is/will be, I think that the most important skills that he has learned haven't come form his classes at ASU, they have come from learning from and having dna from this man.

 Their baby graduated.

 After the ceremony, Steve and Amy took me and blake out to brunch.  We then went shopping for a computer for blake.  He has been using a laptop at work that is a few years old and is getting slow.  We found him a nice new lap top that will be shipped next week.  That is where the miracles will happen.

 My parents and Kid came to support Blake.

 Big brother (in-law)

 Still a little boy loving his mommy.  Since blake is the baby of the family, he had lots of one-on-one time with his mom at home.  When it came time for him to go to kindergarten, he didn't want to leave his mommy, so he just held onto her leg.  He is a little taller now, but Amy and Steve were saying how it felt like earlier this week that he was leaving to kindergarten, and now is graduated from college. 

Blake and I then went to nordstrom rack where we picked out his other graduation presents.  As we were walking in blake said, "the salesman just put some kobes on the rack, they are going to be the perfect size and the perfect color...."  when we got back to the shoes, there they were, just like blake had predicted, his new basketball shoes that he gets to wear now that he has a little more time to play basketball.  We also got him a new swimsuit and some new black dress pants for work.  He is one good-looking guy.

happy graduation blake!  i love you

pmg

my husband committed to the elders in our ward that he would start studying from PMG everyday during his personal study.  i have been so impressed with the spirit that he has had and the light the emanates from him (even more than usual) as he started doing this, so finally after a few weeks i decided to do it too. i studied from it a lot when i first got home from my mission but i let some time slip by without reading from it.  it is so inspired and i felt the Spirit so strong today that i just may have to make a habit of this.