May has turned out to be a busier month then I imagined! Joey is busy with work as usual and I have been spending my time studying away for the CPA Exam and trying to make a dent in my long list of things I wanted to accomplish in May. In the little spare time we do have we are trying to take advantage of living in DC while we can! Now, lots of pictures!
{At the beginning of April we went to see the famous DC cherry blossoms. We were a few days early for the peak blossoms but it was still very beautiful. It was perfect weather and a fun outing.}
{Cute hubby with the Washington Monument in the background}
{Aren't we the cutest?}
{The next week we went on a boat cruise on the Potomac. It was sunny and beautiful and we loved learning all about DC from the tour guide. Joey and his history nerdness was happy!}
{Not the best pic of us, but the only one I have from the cruise. Good thing we have seen more sun since then}
{View of the Lincoln and Washington from our boat}
{My sister was off work one day so we decided to go to the national zoo. I always love the zoo and this one did not disappoint.}
{The beavers were a surprise favorite! We got to see them being fed and they were so cute.}
{I loved the panda! It was so cute eating the bamboo.}
{For Mothers day we decided to go to Mount Vernon. It was the perfect day! Sunny and 75.}
{Joey as Washington, isn't he handsome?}
{There were so many sheep! I loved them. I was so excited to see the sheep sheering but we missed it. Joey thought I
was crazy because I was more excited about all of it then the kids were.}
{I wanted to do a cartwheel and have Joey take a picture. He was very reluctant but finally agreed. He only let me try once though because he was so embarrassed of me.}
{This week we went paddle boating in the tidal basin! I have been wanting to do this forever but last summer it was to hot. It was perfect this week with a nice breeze.}
{Our duck friend Harold. He kept following us around and I loved it.}
Last year around the end of September I decided I wanted to learn to run and to work up to running a 5K without walking at all. I have NEVER been a runner but heck, why not try!
I started off really slow and by the time I had worked my way up to being ready it was December and I guess people don't really like running in the snow because there were zero 5Ks going on....
Then I moved and started a new job and it was cold outside and a list of a bunch of other excuses, needless to say, I stopped running. I talked to my sister and we decided to train to run one together in May. I put off training for the above excuses until about mid April and then panicked and started running again. Five days before the actual 5K I ran 3.1 miles for the first time ever!
The day of the race was overcast and perfect for running and it was so fun to be running with my sister who worked so hard to train. I felt pretty good running. I was VERY slow, but steady, the definite tortoise in this story. I ran the whole way though and made it to the finish line! It took 32 minutes but I am proud of myself for making my goal! I am also so proud of my sister Kenz as well! She ran it in 26 minutes, and she, like me, has never been a runner. Go us!
{Before the race}
{Joey was such a good supporter! He woke up so early even though he had to work a 12 hour day}
The state motto of Virginia is, “Virginia is for lovers.” It
turns out that it’s also for accountants and academics! Meghan and I will be
spending the next few years in the “Old Dominion” while I attend the University
of Virginia’s Religious Studies program, and where I will be among the first
students to study with the Richard L. Bushman Chair for Mormon Studies. I am
beyond excited for the opportunity to study at UVA; the road to ending up at
UVA was a bumpy one.
I originally applied to ten schools, 2 safety schools, 2
that I felt were comfortable reaches, and 6 “go big or go home” choices. I
began hearing back from programs in February, and all I heard was “no” for 6
weeks. The rejection letters came by e-mail, every Wednesday (my day off from
work) for several weeks in a row. The top programs rejected me first, which
didn’t come as much of a surprise. I had only applied to them on certain
faculty members who specialized in Mormonism (who took jobs at a different
school that I applied to). I feel that I took the rejection fairly well; I was
still very optimistic about the other schools I had applied to. And THEN I was
rejected by Utah, and found out that Utah State lost my application. (Sidenote: not kidding, they lost my application.)
That was a dark day, when I heard the difficult news from
Utah and Utah State. I listened to Fleet Foxes, the Smiths, and Simon and
Garfunkel, and wallowed on my bed eating donuts and wondering what I was going
to do with my life.
What if I didn’t get into school? Why had I felt so
strongly about pursuing graduate school if this was what was going to happen? I
really started to question what on earth I had chosen to do as a profession and
why I chose something that involved so much rejection before I even began
applying for jobs.
Meghan is and was always my biggest supporter, and she
stayed much more optimistic than I did during this troubling time. She told me
that something would work out, and I always believed it more coming from her mouth instead of from myself.
FINALLY, I received an e-mail from the University of
Virginia while at work. Frankly, I expected it to be more of the same, “you’re
a very strong applicant, please apply again next year” or “we regret that we
are unable to offer you admission” (or hearing from backchannels that I was in
the final round of cuts). I was prepared to be devastated. AND I WASN’T! I will
be in the inaugural class of students who will study with Virginia’s new Mormon
Studies Chair!
Initially, I didn’t want to apply to Virginia, I thought I
had no chance of admission (it’s the best public university school for
religious studies!), Luckily, the Mormon Studies Chair made it too appealing to
bypass applying.
It’s exciting news, and at the same time very intimidating.
I will spend 3 semesters learning, reading, writing, and preparing a thesis,
and then will wait to hear where I will end up for a PhD program. Sometimes I
wake up in the middle of the night thinking, “how am I going to do everything
that I want to in my career, and not make the sacrifice too great on my wife
and future children?” Sometimes, as I see the wonderful folks who have gone on
before me in history, religious studies, and Mormon Studies, I think to myself,
“I will never be ___.,“ “I’ll never write like___,” I won’t be able to find a
job.” Or the worst thought, “what if I’m only doing this because I’m too
stubborn to try something I don’t want to?” It’s in these times that I remember
some of my favorite scriptural passages about trusting the direction and
revelation that God gives to us when we ask for guidance, guidance that I had
earnestly sought every step of the way in deciding to go to grad school.
Hebrews 10:35-36
King James Version (KJV)
35 Cast
not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
36 For
ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might
receive the promise.
The talk that Elder Holland gave off of these few scriptures
found here.
Long story short, thank you to all those who continue to
love and support me, give me opportunities, and help me refine myself as a
person and a scholar.
But MOST OF ALL, thank you to Meghan Jeanne Newby Stuart,
who believes in me more than I ever could in myself. I love her and have no
idea how I could ever be so lucky to have found her.
We have been given no assurance of an outcome as far as
finding employment for Meghan or applying to schools again in a few years, only
a clear directive: MOVE FORWARD. And so we will.
Today is Easter Sunday. What a glorious day. So much hope is wrapped up in this day. I love the symbolism of Easter. It’s at the beginning of spring when everything is coming back to life after a long winter. When things start to look really bleak and you don’t think spring will ever come, then a ray of sunshine finds its way through the clouds and you find yourself feeling hopeful for what is to come.
Winter seems to always be a hard time for me but this year has especially been so. I have just felt a little off and not quite myself. I am an introvert by nature so moving to a new place, along with working a lot of hours, plus being married to my best friend, I have found myself closing off to the world and holing up in my apartment quite often. Most of the time I am quite content with doing just that, but there is part of me that knows I need to reach out and interact with the world more. Spring brings me hope to do just that.
With the flowers poking through the thawing ground and trees budding new life, I have felt new life beginning to spring within myself. No matter how long and dark and cold winter is, spring always comes. And because of Christ, no matter how long and dark our own winters are, spring can always come for us. Because He conquered death, we will too. Christ brings so much hope in a world filled with despair. He is the light of the world, the Son of God, who shines before us.
No matter what you have done in the past or how bad your life has been, tomorrow is a new day and through Christ you can heal and make the future brighter than you ever imagined.
I am grateful for this Easter time to reflect on what the Savior has done for me and look to the future with hope. One of the darkest days in history was the Friday that Christ was crucified, but on Sunday He rose again, triumphant over death and the grave. Although we all have Fridays, Sunday will always come.
March 2 I turned 25. Can't believe it. I'm getting up there!
We had a fun birthday weekend to celebrate. Since Joey had to work Saturday, the day of my birthday, we decided to celebrate together on Friday. We both were off work by 3, which NEVER happens and was a huge treat. We had Chipotle and then headed to Georgetown to go iceskating at Washington Harbor. It was a perfect night. Clear skies and not to cold. It was a perfect place to ice skate. It was fun gliding across the ice holding hands with my love and just enjoying the fresh air. Neither of us fell but Joey did get bit by a small child...
Then we headed to Alexandria where we checked in for a romantic night away from home. We couldn't go far, because Joey had to work the next morning, but it was nice to get a little bit away and have a fun romantic night. We also enjoyed the cable TV since we don't have cable right now, ha.
I got to open my presents. The main present is getting to go to NYC this summer and seeing Wicked! I am super excited and can't wait! I love NY and am excited to explore more with Joey.
Saturday we slept in and got some breakfast and then took Joey to work. After that I spent most of the day shopping with my wonderful sister. We had fun walking the gigantic mall, Virginia knows how to do malls, and talking. It so fun having her so close now.
Sunday we had some people over for cake and ice cream. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of all of us together. Joey made me a delicious cake with homemade chocolate frosting that was delectable. To top it off my mom mailed me my all time favorite ice cream from Kentucky, Graeters, for me to enjoy!
It was a great way to start off my next year of life. I felt very loved and lucky to have so many great people in my life!
Wake up, work all day, come home exhausted, go to bed, wake up and do it again. Clothes are strewn all over the room, dishes are piled in the sink, I haven't made dinner in weeks, and Joey and I only see each other a few hours a day, yet I am very content with life. I wake up, Joey is still sleeping next to me, I cuddle closer and just drink it all in. I want to enjoy and remember this time in our life.
Even though we don't have much time together, we make the most of the time we get. My favorite time is the morning. Getting out of bed is hard, since cuddling is so much fun, but we pry ourselves out of bed somehow. Then we play music and dance in front of the mirror as we do our hair and try to pump ourselves up for another day. We flirt a little as we get dressed for the day and always rush out the door a little to late.
On good nights we cuddle close in bed telling each other all about our days, laughing and kissing. Other nights, we lay in bed on our various electronic devices, unwinding from the day, no energy to talk at all. On worse nights we come home frustrated and exhausted not wanting to work another day. But each night we fall asleep in each others arms.
We were so happy to both get off at 6pm on Valentines day instead of the usual 9 or 10. We picked up a romantic meal of hamburgers and fries from Five Guys and took it home to our apartment. We ate and watched our favorite TV shows. Joey bought the most delicious dessert of raspberry chocolate mousse. It was so nice to spend a whole night together just enjoying each others company. Definitely my favorite valentines day yet. Oh and I forgot to mention the amazing heart shaped banana pancakes with strawberry syrup and whip cream that I made for breakfast. :) (sad to note that this is the only picture I have from the day)
Sunday is our only day off so after church at 8:30 we spend the day catching up on sleep, being social with friends, and trying to fit in some sort of adventure around the city.
Overall, February treated us very well. It taught us that working hard feels good and to enjoy the small moments and to live in the present, because we will never get this time again.
I have a great husband. When we were planning to get married and planning out what life would be like when we were married, Joey agreed to go with me to Virginia after we graduated because I had a job opportunity there. He would be leaving the life he loved at BYU where he had a job he loved and friends but was willing to go for me.
When we got to Virginia at the end of December he didn't know what he would be doing for the next 6 months. He worked so hard looking for jobs and talking to everyone he knew. Within a week he had a job offer. We talked about it and decided it would be a good thing for him and so he took the job! 6 days after we arrived in Virginia he started his job.
What is that job you ask. Well... he is a CAR SALESMAN! (see the picture below for how excited he is). He is selling Nissan and Mazdas. It's a hard job because he has to work 60 hour weeks and it's all commission based but wouldn't you know, he is great at it! It was a rocky start but I think he is liking it more now. Really the only downside is that he works Saturdays from 9am-9pm. I get pretty bored and lonely and he hates not having the weekend off but we are dealing with it. He doesn't have to work any Sundays even though all the other salesmen do and the dealership is right across the street from my office, which is nice because we only have one car. So overall we are feeling very blessed and Joey is putting his wonderful people skills to work. I sure love him and his hard work!
