Stace did Great!

You should all be so proud of your cousin! ;) Stace got a great score and did much better than average. His math score was upwards of the 90th percentile! He wants to take it again, however, in order to be that much more competitive when it's time to apply to school for his PhD. If he was only getting his masters, he probably wouldn't want to take it again. Thanks for keeping him in your thoughts and prayers yesterday:)

Two Big Happenins and a Piece of Advice

First Big Happenin:
Stace is taking the GMAT tomorrow morning! Ah! Please keep him in your prayers tonight! We are slightly nervous...to say the least!

Second Big Happenin:
I got a job!!! I am now the Marketing and Communications Specialist for the State Board of Administration's Florida Prepaid College Program. We are very excited because we will have health and dental insurance completely paid for both Stace and I! This is very exciting because we went for a large portion of our marriage uninsured. So, yay!

Advice:
Be careful what you post. My new boss googled me and found this blog! I was a bit embarrassed because of the silly videos we'd posted up! Hehe...but I guess she gave me the benefit of the doubt, rather than being scared away! Thank goodness:)

"Motherhood: the highest and holiest service...assumed by mankind" - J. Reuben Clark

Recently my visiting teaching companion, a mother of five children, offered to let me borrow her book called "I Am a Mother," by Jane Clayson Johnson. With a slight smile, my response was "okay...but I'm not a mother." She said "yes, but one day you will be." Intrigued mostly by the author, a giant in the world of communications, I accepted her offer.
Let me just tell you, it was one of the best books I have ever read. It was filled with such touching quotes and stories. I literally cried the whole time I read it. Reading this book made me so excited and grateful for the day when I will get to be a mother.
I have to return the book to my visiting teaching companion, but before I do so, I wanted to share with you some quotes from it. Most of these quotes only portray the super flowery side of motherhood. The book also points out that there are many days when moms just want to pull their hair out in frustration after walls have been covered in crayons and pudding. But, take some time to read these and reflect on how special it is to be a mom, even on dirty-wall days.


**"When the real history of mankind is disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sounds of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses?" -Neal A. Maxwell
**"A mother's heart is a child's schoolroom. The instructions received at the mother's knee...are never effaced entirely by the soul... Family life is God's own method of training the young, and homes are largely what mothers make them." -Harold B. Lee
**"The more skillful the caregiver, the more invisible her efforts become. Ideally, the recipients themselves don't even notice they are being cared for, other than to accept caring as the natural order of things... Like the work of a fine seamstress, the tiny stitches that build character and confidence are invisible to the eye." -Ann Crittenden

Ode to Candace

Stace and I would just like to take a moment to congratulate Candace! She is clearly the projected winner of our poll. I'm not gonna lie, I do have a pretty awesome sister-in-law. There are some special people in my life that make me smile just when I think about them. Candace is one of those people. Candace, we love you. And so does everyone else! Duuuhhhhhhhh....

In other news, I had an interview today. It lasted for an hour and a half. It went well!...I think...at least I know it went better than my last interview...
I am also handing in an application tomorrow for a communication specialist position with a non-profit organization. Let's hope something comes of all this!

Stace is just a-preppin for the GMAT! He takes it next week-- and what he gets on it is a huge determiner of where we end up not only in the near future, but also where he ends up teaching and where we start our family--- blah blah blah. So, we'd appreciate your prayers!

Hope you have a good sense of humor!

-Stace

Busy Weekend!

Yesterday afternoon my sister-in-law Beth came over to visit us with her three adorable girls. It was so fun! We haven't seen them since January; my nieces have grown so much! One of the saddest parts about living away from family is that you miss the growing uppage of all the youngins. :( Here is a picture of the girls with Beth. Caroline Elizabeth, 5; Katherine (Kate) Vann, 2; and Georgia Clare, 6 mos.

Here is a picture of Caroline and Colby. That poor cat. Haha! My nieces were simply trying to love and play with him, but that kitty was terrorized! He was so tolerant, though! He let them poke, prod and carry him upset down as much as they wanted. haha! good kitty.


The CD Release show went great! They sold quite a bit of C.D's and t-shirts. The bass drum (I think it was the bass drum) was a bit too loud and Stace's vocals were not quite loud enough, which was kinda annoying. I kept waiting for the sound guys to fix it, but they didn't. They also never fixed the feedback that continued throughout the show...which was also annoying! I don't know if other people notice those things like I do though...I hope not. When you've been to about a-baszhillion LB shows, you notice when everything is absolutely perfect, and when there is something not quite right. I don't mind, of course; but I just get annoyed because if other people are there for their first time, I am like "I promise they are better than this!"

This morning I woke up and got ready to be Princess Genevieve from the "Twelve Dancing Princesses" movie for a birthday party. Emma Thomas, the birthday girl, was one of Stace and I's Sunbeams when we were in Primary. Emma's mom, Ann, called me and asked if I could dress up and pretend to be Princess Genevieve for her fifth birthday party. Ann and I went to Goodwill and found a few articles of clothing she could work with to piece together a costume. We didn't find too much to work with, so I was so impressed with what Ann did! She did a great job! I'm not gonna lie: I felt like a bit of an idiot in that froofy dress, and I kept thinking about how embarrassed I would be in front of all the parents as I tried to act like a "real" Princess Genevieve. But I was determined to stay in character for little Emma and the rest of my ex-Sunbeams.

Well, it turned out to be SO much fun! I managed to get over my pride/ embarrassment and just have FUN! We did, too: we had a blast! The boys got to fight off "ogres" (green balloons with scary faces) with their swords in the backyard, and they even enjoyed being called "Prince William" and "Prince Cameron" and dancing with us. I love those kids!

This afternoon a beautiful baptism took place. A wonderful family friend, Stephanie White (she's like a sister) was able to speak at the baptism of her sister, Stacey. Stephanie got baptized ten years ago, and ever since then she's been praying that Stacey would also find her way to the Gospel. It was such an awesome day! Yay for Stacey and her family!

My sister Marissa and her husband Tom are staying with us this weekend. They live in the Destin, Florida area. We are having lots of fun so far! After the baptism we came home and did a little crafty project. This was an old Relief Society project Marissa had leftover materials from, so she brought them over and we did it. Her white stripes have the "city on a hill" scripture in Matthew on it, and mine has the 13th Article of Faith.

Tomorrow our neighborhood is having a potluck called "Falling Star FIGHTS BACK!" There has been ten robberies on our street, Falling Star Drive, since March! ah! A police officer is coming to talk to us about the details of the robberies and about crime prevention. So far Stace and I have been blessed not to have been victims. It might also be that we don't have anything in our house worth breaking into for! :)
This morning a man from Certified Security came over because our landlord (my dad) is thinking about letting us get a security system.
When we haven't been busy doing everything you see in these pictures, we've been sleeping...A LOT!
Hope you all have had a good weekend so far!
-Over and Out-

This is funny!