Good News!

I received two bits of good news yesterday and thought I'd better share. First, I was admitted to doctoral candidacy...finally! I sat for a 1-hour oral exam yesterday afternoon in which I had to defend/explain my answers to the two-day written exam I took back in October. At the end of that hour, I had to leave the room while my committee "deliberated." After 20 anxiety-filled minutes, they came back and told me I had been admitted to candidacy, and that really they spent most of the 20 minutes talking about my dissertation. What a relief! On to the "fun" part!

Second, while I was on the phone with my mom relating these events, I opened up a letter to find that I had been awarded another scholarship! I was totally surprised! I had received word a couple of weeks ago that I had been given a scholarship and I was excited about that but, this was really a surprise! What a blessing!

Needless to say, a weight has been lifted and I'm happy to finally be able to fully enjoy the holiday season. Jeff took his last final this afternoon (I'm sure he's home sleeping now) and we'll be going out tonight to celebrate. It's been a difficult, busy semester for both of us and it'll be nice to just enjoy our favorite time of year!