Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last!

I have officially graduated from college with an Bachelors of Science degree in Anthropology from Cal State University of San Marcos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A major stage of my life is complete, but now that one is done I must remember the words of the late Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech from the steps of the Lincoln memorial,

"And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march again. We cannot turn back. There are those that are asking, 'when will you be satisfied?' We can never be satisfied...No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream...Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive."

And so I am reminded that as one chapter of my life has come to an end, God has merely opened many more.

Thank you to those who have guided and supported me along the way. My success has been due to your grace, patience and commitment!

Holly Hangs 16

For Mother's Day, Janet asked if Paul could take Holly "surfing". For those of you that don't know, Holly is a dog. It was quite an adventure, to say the least. She did really well, as did Paul. He had an absolute blast trying to get her to stay on the board, and every time she escaped he'd call her back to try again. The funny thing was that she never wanted to sit or lie down, only stand. It made things a bit difficult, as you can see. Also, the board was made more for just man, not man and man's best friend.

I love her ears in this one!

She was easily distracted by other dogs and owners throwing balls.

This is a good example. This definitely wasn't Holly's ball.

And she's off...again!

Overall we had a blast watching Holly "surf," and Paul said he'd love to try taking her out again sometime. We only had one minor success which was mainly caught on video rather than photo. Maybe next time.

-Alyssa

Woe is the life of the wife of a college student

I know that I probably shouldn't say anything, but I cannot wait until May 14th so I can have my husband back. He's been a slave to school for the better part of our first (almost) year (already) of marriage. I couldn't be prouder of him. Paul has not only taken on a full load of courses, but worked part time on the side...with junior highers. He's also put up with me. I'm not sure how he hasn't lost it yet. Seriously.

Regardless, I cannot wait to have him back. For selfish reasons I'm looking forward to free reign over the computer and stereo without feeling the need to keep the noise down at a library level. I'll no longer be editing papers and hearing about the horror of single use plastics. Finally I'll be able to talk about all the books I've been reading without seeing that longing look in his eyes as he daydreams about reading for pleasure again. We might even be able to get out on the weekends with friends more than once every full moon!

Meanwhile I'm still unpacking from the move we made well over a week ago. Boxes still force us to squeeze through pathways from one room to the next, and we're searching for random things in random boxes at any random part of the day. The cat must believe we've created a playground of sorts for her as she's into everything and anything. She doesn't seem to care if it's the middle of the night and others are trying to sleep, or if the box she's forcing herself into head first is marked "fragile." Overall, the new place is great. It's both smaller and older than our last apartment, but definitely feels more like home.

Other than the move and countdown until Paul graduates, we've been enjoying our time with friends and family (see photos/posts below). Brenna visited in March for her birthday which was absolutely wonderful and just what I needed. We had the opportunity to get out to the east coast for a bit to see the new Nate and Emily Nichols get married, and say hello to the Richter grandparents. We're camping next week with some good friends from church, and continuing on with the process that is applying for the Peace Corps.

On a fantastic note, we just finished all of our medical paperwork and sent it off. Now we just sit back and wait. Hold on, I think I'm having de ja vu.

All in all, no complaints.

-Alyssa