Passing!!!

Yesterday was a nerve-racking awesome day. It was the day I defended my thesis. This research was long and complicated. It took a loooong time to get through it. When I wasn't able to finish before the standard graduation in August, I was really unhappy. But yesterday made up for it all.

The teacher I work with at the state hospital let me give my presentation to the girls we work with and it was good practice. The girls were awesome and asked questions and were actually engaged in the presentation, which was amazing since it used a lot of technical terms and I would not generally think that it would be a topic of interest. But they were great :)

Then it was time to present to the people that would decide my fate. Thankfully, I had a really positive experience with my committee and I received a lot of positive feedback for my hard work. Of course there were changes that were requested, but overall it was nothing major. It made me feel like the extra time invested was worth it.

One of my committee members is a presenter and major supporter of the Principal's Academy at BYU. She told me before I started my presentation that she had talked about my research in her presentation that day and given me credit. Sweet! That's a good way to start. Afterward she emailed and told me to be proud of how I had presented, how I had taken the changes and the overall work I had put into it. That was awesome.

My thesis chair told me it was one of the most positive defenses she had ever attended. Usually committee members hesitate to sign paperwork until they see the changes they requested fulfilled, but my committee members sign no problem.

Even better, Brian was able to come to the last half and waited with me while the committee deliberated. That was really nice because he was able to entertain me so I wouldn't get nervous. After everything was said and done, Brian and I went out to dinner and enjoyed a nice evening together. Before the night was over, Brian brought out another sample of my favorite chocolate.

Back in Easter, Brian noticed that I love Cadbury mini eggs. On his way home from work one day, he noticed that they were all on sale and bought several bags. (The exact number I have no idea). He has hid them somewhere in the house. Considering I would gobble them all up with no abandon, I don't look for them. Brian pulled out two bags for my birthday. Some more on some days when I have been sad and he pulled out some more today to celebrate the happiness of this moment of triumph.

August was a month for babies!

In the month of August two of my friends had babies. One of them was expected and the other was a little early. So maybe two isn't that many, but it was a big change for two of my friends, so it felt big.

On August 7th, my best friend Jaime had her cute little guy Russell.

I am cuddling Russell for the first of many times.

Brian cuddling Russell for the first of many times.

Because Jaime and Tom spend a lot of time with us, Russell ends up spending a lot of time with us as well. And he has been a fun addition to our crowd :)

Later in the month, my friend Kimberlee had her baby boy a little bit early. They were expecting him in early September, but because of some high blood pressure problems, Kimberlee was induced the same day she came in for what she thought was going to be a simple check-up. So we made another trip to the hospital at the end of August to meet Daniel.

It has been awesome getting to know these little guys. They are really gentle, nice babies. For sure, these guys will let you know if something is wrong, but they can be soothed pretty easy. Hopefully, my future kiddos will be as sweet as these little guys.