These past couple of weeks have been extremely hectic but there have been too many times during the chaos that I have been able to notice more closely the Lord's hand working in our lives and I wanted to get it written down.
Finals week: Joey was very worried about his Cell Biology class because he needed a near perfect score to pass the class. He studied like I had never seen him study before and met with his lab Professor a couple nights til very late (thanks Roslyn) trying to soak it all in! During the time he was taking his final I pulled Avery aside and we said a prayer for Daddy to do well. When he finished he called and said he had never felt better after taking a test than he did after this one. We tried not too worry about it because we had family in town for graduation. Its funny to me that schools allow you to walk before grades are posted (you can't fully enjoy the graduation). But, despite our worrying we did enjoy family and friends that came to be with us on our special day! We really appreciated all the love and support and could not have been more grateful:) Avery loved having all the family in town and was sad to see them go! By the following Monday all of our family had left -- & this was the day grades were due we checked Oasis (the web cite where grades are posted) no kidding every hour and were SO EXCITED and RELIEVED that he did well enough on his final to pass the class!!! Woo hoo!!! Apparently Cell Bio along with O-Chem 1 & 2 are the most dreaded Science classes as UGA... if you look at the key the average GPA for these classes is around a 1.7 !!! { I am so thankful I am an English major! }
The next week: We head to Arkansas to find a place to live and I was able to see UAMS. I'll be honest, I was not thrilled with the idea of living in Arkansas. I try to explain to my friends here that Texans make fun of Arkansas people as being Hillbilly Rednecks who marry their first cousins, the way people in Georgia make fun of people from Alabama & Mississippi. My generalizations of Arkansas were proven false during the visit. We drove in from Memphis, so we came in through North Little Rock over the Arkansas River and it was beautiful. As I was looking out the car window at how the looks alone had exceeded my expectations I knew this was where we are supposed to be. Unfortunately, we did not find housing in the area I want Avery to go to school, (but I still have a year before she starts Pre-K and two before kindergarten, so hopefully we'll be able to get in there). There was nothing available in this area for the first of June. However, we did find a beautiful apartment on a golf course with a pool, fitness center and double the size we are in now. The people in our new ward were very welcoming; there were TONS of kids, and lots of other pregnant women:) We headed back to Georgia pretty excited that things had worked out so well with the small amount of time we had! ( I know I am going to miss Athens so much-- It seriously has to be the best place to live and I cross my fingers we'll end up back this way eventually!!!)
The following week: The fun begins... Packing, Cleaning, and did I mention Joey now has to take a GA Constitution test to fulfill a state requirement to officially graduate!!! His Political Science class from UVSC transferred but since it was in Utah it did not cover some of the GA material the state requires. Joey called earlier on and talked to the lady in charge, explained his situation about how there is not time for him to take a summer or Maymester course to complete this requirement and wants to know what he should do so he can start grad school by June 7. Luckily, there is a test that you can take to test out of taking the class. Last night I stayed up quizing him til 1am to help him prepare for this test. In the mean time I got a fax from our new complex wanting to finalize and sign the last pages of our lease. They wanted to have it all to them by today! The testing center told Joey they would not have the grades back until tomorrow, so we were a little worried about our housing in Little Rock and his grade on this test. I know there is someone watching over us because the lady at the testing center graded his test and sent it to us by noon today. He passed with flying colors:) Another huge relief. I forgot to mention the Director of the Microbiology/Immunology program at UAMS had emailed to remind the grad students to have their transcripts sent to the school. Joey emailed her to explain why his was not there yet. She was very understanding and told him he would be fine and how excited they were to have him as part of their program. Then yesterday (which was a Sunday) he received an email from her wishing him good luck on his test today and that she and the other Professors he had met with would be thinking about him! Joey and I both could not believe that she remembered the day he was to take this test and that amongst her busy schedule she took the time to send the email. (I am excited to meet her, she completed her Ph.D. at Yale and her Post-doc at MIT and everyone in the program has nothing but good things to say about her) Lastly, only 20 minutes after Joey had called me telling me he passed this GA constitution test, the Relief Society President of the ward we will be attending in Little Rock called and asked for the exact date we planned to arrive in Little Rock, the address of where we will be living and told us the Elders Quorum there would be notified to help us move in! I know Heavenly Father is watching over us; Things could not have fallen into place more perfectly despite all the obstacles and I'm am extremely grateful for him!
Amidst everything going on we have had more time to spend as a family, since school is out. & some of my favorite moments are when we are just simply sitting on the couch laughing with Avery for no reason or sitting on the floor in front of Avery as she has "storytime" with us! There are so many more ways we have been blessed but I've almost written a novel as it is...
